Here’s the latest news from the technology industry, which is coming under increasing global scrutiny from governments around the world.
EU Legislators Want To Make Big Tech Provide Compensation For News
Legislators in the European Union who are supervising new online regulation in Europe are reportedly aiming to make large tech firms provide compensation for news, mirroring a similar action in Australia, according to a Financial Times report.
A Maltese Member of the European Parliament (MEP), Alexa Saliba, said the Australian strategy to Facebook and Google had been able to contend with the “acute bargaining power imbalances” with the publishers.
MEPs involved in Europe’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) told the outlet that the rules could be changed as they move through the bloc’s parliament to incorporate parts of the reforms in Australia.
China Finalizes Digital Antitrust Regulations
China has finalized digital antitrust regulations only one quarter after revealing the draft rules, Bloomberg reported. The regulations, which become effective immediately, are designed to cut down on actions that inhibit competition like subsidizing below-cost services to get rid of rivals, Bloomberg reported, citing a State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) statement.
“The three-month period is considered a fast process, indicating Beijing’s commitment to clamp down on monopolistic practices,” Scott Yu, an antitrust attorney at a law firm in China, said per the outlet. By contrast, the report noted that it took years for a past antitrust rule that regulated the automobile industry to be finalized.
Maryland Passes Tax On Digital Advertising
Maryland enacted a tax on digital advertising — the first state in the U.S. to reportedly do so — with Maryland’s senate deciding to override a gubernatorial veto of a law that would levy a tax of as much as 10 percent on revenue from digital ads displayed in the state, CNN reported.
The online ad provisions of the state’s new tax legislation could bring in a forecast $250 million in its inaugural year.
The bill’s ratification potentially serves as the start of a tide of similar laws throughout the nation, with policymakers increasingly put the economic dominance of Big Tech platforms in their crosshairs. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, was against the legislation, having vetoed it in 2020. He contended that it would “raise taxes and fees on Marylanders at a time when many are already out of work and financially struggling.”
Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Democrat, contended in a Friday (Feb. 12) Facebook post, however, that “at a time when Maryland’s budget is being impacted in unforeseen and astronomical ways due to COVID-19, Maryland families and businesses can foot the bill, or big tech can start paying their fair share.”
Australian Official Raises Concern Over Big Tech Using Data With Open Banking-Like Program
Australian Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk expressed concern over the ability of large tech companies to seek accredited data recipients (ADR) status when it comes to the country’s Consumer Data Right (CDR) program, which is a similar effort to open banking, ZD Net reported. “I think because of the rich data holdings that are held by some of the social media platforms, care would need to be taken to ensure that individuals understand what they’re consenting to if their Consumer Data Right information were to be combined with that [which is] perhaps is on their social media profile,” Falk said, per the outlet.
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