Digital Policy Tracker
North America
When 16.09.2021 Where USA, North America Who Federal Communications Commission
The White House is nearing the deadline to announce the Federal Communications Commission's chairperson that has been deadlocked in a 2-2 partisan split since January. Since the U.S. House of Representatives is about to vote on the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, policy experts predict the President's pick for the FCC chairperson will be announced soon. The commission's acting chairwoman, Jessica Rosenworcel, has led the agency with a steady focus on long-term broadband subsidy to promote digital access all over America and to combat “digital redlining”. The new chairperson will have this issue of broadband access for all, along with a mounting list of policy items like restoration of net neutrality, encouraging competition in the broadband market, enacting pending broadband license renewals and spectrum actions, among others. President Biden's nominee will, thus, not only be shaped by what his administration expects from the telecom industry but will also shape this crucial industry for the next five-year term.
#FCCchair #digitalaccess #broadband
When 16.09.2021 Where USA, North America Who Facebook, MIT Technology Review
A former Facebook employee released an internal report written in October 2019 that detailed Facebook's failure in changing its algorithm post the 201 election. Their strategy of dealing with harmful content after it was posted and only limiting "worst of the worst" content at the source did very little to control the 'troll farms' - professional groups that work to post provocative content and propaganda on social networking sites. The report estimates that over 140 million Americans were encountering the content produced by these 'troll farms' monthly, most of which was targeted towards Christians, African Americans, Native Americans, and women. Since the platform does not penalize unoriginal content but instead pushes engaging content higher up on the users' feed, the content created by 'troll farms', which is often engaging and created to be reposted, ranks higher on the user's feed. Such engagement and reach, in the hands of bad actors, can expose the users to become targets of politically divisive content and misinformation. The report has highlighted the platform's systemic issues that stem from its flawed algorithm and lack of policies that target harmful content at the source.
#algorithm #trollfarms #USelections
When 03.08.2021 Where USA, North America Who US Senate, White House
Senators introduced a $1 trillion bipartisan federal infrastructure bill that may require cryptocurrency brokers to report traders’ information about the purchase and sales prices to the IRS, leading to higher tax bills for investors. This bill's guidelines affect investors and companies that qualify as "brokers". To clear up the confusion about who classifies as a "broker", some senators have introduced an amendment to the infrastructure bill based on its language. Industry groups and the Chamber of Digital Commerce called the bill's existing version “too broad and vague", saying the bill may affect companies and investors negatively. The White House issued a statement in support of the bill calling it "an important step forward in promoting tax compliance". If the original version of the bill passes, it could hurt the crypto market owing to the heightened enforcement. If favourably amended, it would be a win for the crypto industry - a sunrise sector that is struggling to find regulatory legitimacy and sound legal feet across the world. The original language might also force some companies to shut down or move offshore if they can’t comply, impacting the American digital asset ecosystem.
#cryptoregulations #cryptocurrency #digitaltax
When 23.07.2021 Where USA, North America Who American Government, Facebook, Twitter
Senators Amy Klobuchar and Ben Ray Luján introduced the Health Misinformation Act in the Senate that would remove safe harbour given to platfroms under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, for misinformation spread about public health emergencies. The bill aims to hold social media companies like Facebook and Twitter accountable for amplifying misinformation during the pandemic about vaccines, false Covid cures, and other misinformation about the virus. This bill follows President Biden's recent comment, where he accused Facebook for spreading misinformation that "is killing people". This new bill would strip social media companies of the immunity provided by Section 230 in events of public health emergencies. For the bill to become effective, lawmakers and agencies enacting the exception would be required to define "health misinformation" to hold companies accountable for the spread of misinformation. This move hints at lawmakers and the White House turning their attention to holding social media companies for facilitating the spread of false information.
#misinformation #covid19 #section230
When 14.07.2021 Where USA, North America Who Facebook, Amazon, FTC
On July 14, Facebook sent a petition to the Federal Trade Commission asking for Chair Lina Khan's recusal from the FTC's antitrust case against the company. Given the Chairwoman's very vocal stance on antitrust and her frequent criticism of big tech companies, Facebook has asked for the same, in the interest of "fairness". Khan's recusal will leave the vote between two Republicans and two Democrats - hinting at a tie that would stop the matter from going any further.
Facebook's move follows Amazon's petition for Khan's recusal from anti-trust matters regarding the company, hinting at big tech's dissatisfaction with her leadership of the FTC. Even if these recusal requests are dismissed by the FTC, they might imperil Khan's leadership of the FTC and her involvement in antitrust cases in the future.
#antitrust #digitalregulations #bigtech
When 08.07.2021 Where USA, North America Who American Government, Google
On July 7, state attorneys representing thirty-six states filed a complaint in a federal court in San Francisco alleging that Google is imposing barriers that completely prevent or at least strong discourage third-party developers from distributing their apps outside Google's Play Store. The case is being led by New York with Utah, North Carolina, and Tennessee, and states that the company uses unfair tactics to limit competition and collects "extravagant" commissions from developers upon app purchases. The lawsuit follows the American government's crackdown on tech giants with anti-trust bills that aim to encourage fair competition, highlighting the administration's growing concerns towards the anti-competitive stance of big tech companies.
#playstore #competition #antitrust
When 08.07.2021 Where USA, North America Who Donald Trump, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
Former US President Donald Trump has filed a class-action lawsuit targeting Google, Twitter, and Facebook and their CEOs, claiming that he is the victim of censorship. The lawsuit is in response to the indefinitie suspension of the former president's social accounts from these platforms over safety concerns amid the January 6 Capitol riots led by his supporters. Other than asking for the restoration of Mr Trump's account, the lawsuit also demands that the tech firms be prevented from "censoring" the his accounts in the future. The lawsuit, which Mr Trump calls "a very beautiful development for our freedom of speech" was filed at a federal court in Florida and has been deemed a "mockable" attempt to gain attention by legal experts.
#contentmoderation #censorship #capitolriots
When 25.06.2021 Where USA, North America Who American government, Facebook
On June 25, the Texas Supreme Court stated that Facebook is not a "lawless no-man's land" and can be held liable for letting sex traffickers use the platform for recruiting. This ruling followed cases filed by victims of sex trafficking, who were contacted by pimps on Facebook. The suit alleges that Facebook not only failed to prevent sex traffickers from using the platform but also benefitted from the exploitation of victims. Facebook's lawyers argued that under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act it is not responsible for what users say on the platform. The Court ruled that as per the exceptions to Section 230 passed in 2018, platforms can be held accountable for violations of state and federal human trafficking laws through civil lawsuits. As per legal experts, Facebook can appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, however, that would open the ruling to more scrutiny and could give rise to more exceptions to Section 230, causing the erosion of a key legal shield for tech companies in the U.S.
#sextrafficking #section230 #socialmedia
When 25.06.2021 Where USA, North America Who American Government, Tech Companies
On June 8, the US Senate passed a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the top antitrust senator and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee that would increase the fees that companies planning the biggest mergers have to pay to government antitrust agencies. On June 23 and 24, the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee voted on major bills directly aimed at restricting companies from promoting their own products online, regulating large-scale acquisitions, and generating higher revenue for antitrust agencies that oversee the activities of tech companies. The bills have been met with opposition from lawmakers who are apprehensive about "Big Government", the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as companies such Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google. Along with these bills, the appointments of Big Tech critics and Columbia University Law School professors, Lina Khan as the FTC chair and Tim Wu as special assistant to the president for technology and competition policy, signal at the American government's intentions to increase regulatory scrutiny of the size and influence of digital companies.
#antitrust #digitalregulations #bigtech
When 23.06.2021 Where Canada, North America Who Canadian Government, Streaming Services
Canadian House of Commons passed a bill that aims to regulate streaming services and social media platforms, starting in 2022. Bill C-10 will subject digital companies like Netflix, TikTok, YouTube to similar requirements as traditional broadcasters, where tech giants will be expected to disclose revenue sources, fund Canadian content with a portion of their profits and increase its visibility. The bill aims to promote domestic content, get digital companies to contribute to the country's economy, and regulate harmful content. The Senate has stated that Bill C-10 will require more study before it can be approved as a law. The bill's aim to regulate the algorithm that tech companies use to recommend and promote content has garnered criticism from net-neutrality advocates, digital-law experts, and opposition parties. Bill C-10, akin to many other lesgislation on intermediary regulation worldwide, has highlighted the challenge of regulating content without compromising individual freedom of expression.
#digitalregulations #streaming #socialmedia
When 14.06.2021 Where USA, North America Who TikTok
On June 2, TikTok updated its privacy policy for American users. Under its new "Image and Audio Information" section, the app will automatically collect as "faceprints" and "voiceprints") from its users. The policy clarifies that the biometric data collected is as defined under the US law and additional permissions will be taken from users where the law requires. However, the policy fails to mention whether the additional permissions will be specified under state law, federal law, or both. The ambiguity of this update has received negative reviews from digital-law experts. Given TikTok's popularity among younger users, it is important for the privacy policy to be clear and accessible, so the users can remain aware of what they are consenting to.
#tiktok #privacy #biometrics
When 26.05.2021 Where Canada, North America Who Facebook, Government of Canada, News
Facebook has announced that it will pay 14 prominent Canadian publishers undisclosed amounts to link to their articles on its COVID-19 and climate science pages or other unspecified use cases. Industry watchers say the deal brings cash to media companies hurting for advertising but believe the arrangement should be viewed as Facebook's way of getting ahead of potential regulation in Canada without tackling much of its criticism over issues such as privacy concerns and the prevalence of misinformation on its platform. This comes on the heels of the recent tiff between Facebook and the Australian Government over the latter's News Media Bargaining Code, a global policy precedent -- that sought to make tech platforms pay news organisations for hosting their content.
#revenuesharing #bigtech #onlinenews
When 24.05.2021 Where USA, North America Who Facebook, FTC, US Congress
In the backdrop of changing policy predicaments on content, privacy and platform governance across the world and particularly in the US, Nick Clegg -- Facebook's VP of Global Affairs, has advocated for a more agile and consensus-driven model on digital policy. Calling out for reforms in 4 key areas -- intermediary liability (Section 230), influence operations by bad actors, privacy and data portability, he also calls for the US to set up an independent regulator on all matters concering digital policy. This shows Facebook and by extension, Big Tech's heightened focus on these regulatory areas and is an indication on increased lobbying/advocacy efforts on the same.
#intermediaryliability #privacy #dataportability
When 06.05.2021 Where USA, North America Who Facebook Oversight Board, Donald Trump
Facebook's Oversight Board ruled forced Facebook to reinstate an online post criticising Turkey's portrayal of the Armenian genocide. The meme, posted by an user in the United States, had initially been removed by Facebook because its content moderators believed the language fell afoul of the company's hate speech rules, as well as its cruel and insensitive community standards.The board said that the post should be allowed to remain because of people's legitimate right to share hateful content if it is done to raise public awareness, which the board understood to be the post's intent. The board also said the post should have been left up because it fell under Facebook's satire exception for potentially harmful content.
#onlinecontentmoderation #freedomofspeech #hatespeech
When 17.05.2021 Where USA, North America Who Biden Administration, Donald Trump
The Biden Administration has overturned Trump's Executive Order (post his tussle with Twitter tagging his tweets about unsubstantiated claims of mail-in voting fraud) that sought to limit the liability shield given to social media platfroms for hosting user-generated content. This significant development is indicative of the United States' pivot to a more moderate stance towards platform governance -- a change from the erstwhile "Trumpian" approach of punitive measures on intermediaries, enabling chilling effects on speech and an environment of self-censorship.
#intermediaryliability #section230 #platformgovernance
When 06.05.2021 Where USA, North America Who Facebook Oversight Board, Donald Trump
Facebook's Oversight Board has upheld the ban on former President Donald Trump's account. The panel ruled that Donald Trump's posts “created an environment where a serious risk of violence was possible.” The panel said that ongoing risk “justified” the move to ban him. Yet, the board argued that an indefinite suspension was “not appropriate” because it was not a penalty defined in Facebook’s policies. The board gave Facebook six months to make a final decision on Mr. Trump’s account status. This case reignites and throws oxygen to the ongoing debate regarding censorship and availability of fora for public expression of opinion.
#onlinecontentmoderation #freedomofspeech #facebook
When 22.04.2021 Where USA, North America Who House of Representatives
The House of Representatives passed a bi-partisan bill called the ‘‘Eliminate Barriers to Innovation Act of 2021’’, which aims at creating a digital asset working group between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). The scope of this cooperation would be to start critical conversations on digital assets and cryptocurrencies, and how to go forward. The bill still needs to be passed by the Senate before turning officially into a law. Similar exploratory and regulatory bodies have recently been established in multiple countries across the globe.
#cryptocurrency #cryptoregulations
When 08.04.2021 Where USA, North America Who US Treasury Secretary, OECD
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen calls for the adoption of minimum corporate tax rate, a crucial proposition of the OECD BEPS 2.0 package that has been under discussion since 2018. After Trump's admin opposition to the proposal, this shift from the Biden government represents a significant development on the matter.
#digitaltaxation #corporatetax #OECD
When 03.04.2021 Where USA, North America Who US government
The Biden administration, as part of its proposed $2.3 trillion infrastructure package, has promised to devote $100 billion in broadband infrastructure investments. It marks a significant shift away from an US model that is very much private-sector oriented, and intends to not only make connectivity in rural areas cheaper and more accessible, but to also make the broadband “future-proof”. The plan will be deployed in the span of an eight-year infrastructure plan.
#connectivity #digitalinfrastructure #broadband
When 29.03.2021 Where USA, North America Who French Competititon Authority, Apple
In the Alabama town of Bessemer, Amazon workers are holding a vote (whose final results are expected to be rounded up around the 6/7 April) to create the first union of Amazon workers. The vote, which has gathered national and international attention, could be the first of many more Amazon plants to see a union be born. Amazon is also being criticised throughout the political spectrum for its 'union-busting' practices, aiming to dissuade workers from creating a union.
#laborlaws #unions #amazon
When 16.03.2021 Where USA, North America Who Google, FTC, DoJ
These leaked files suggest that the department of justice was already aware of Google's efforts to dominate the mobile internet search market (namely by being the default engine, via agreements with smartphone producers). FTC lawyers considered the efforts to be illegal and foresaw the creation of the monopoly which Google today enjoys. Yet, politically appointed decisionmakers at the head of FTC declined to act on these reports. These files provide perspective on the ongoing lawsuits pending for Google, suggesting that action could have been taken before total ownership of the market was acquired by Google, and especially when competitors were still in the race to compete.
#monopoly #antitrust #google
Read More
Watch Our Episodes