This week the EU Parliament adopted new rules that will compel all technology providers to have a common USB Type-C charging port for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the European Union. EU policymakers also proposed amendments to a Consumer Credit Directive to lower the transparency and disclosure requirements for certain types of credits, including buy now, pay later (BNPL). In the U.K., the government announced a new regulatory framework to provide financial regulators with powers to oversee “critical” non-financial firms, in reference to cloud providers like Amazon or Microsoft. It also announced a new digital strategy that will seek to transform the U.K. into an “AI superpower.”
Big Tech
UK Government Wants Financial Regulators to Oversee Amazon, Microsoft Cloud Businesses
The U.K. Treasury released a policy paper on Wednesday (June 8) proposing a new regulatory framework that would provide the Bank of England (BoE) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) with new powers to oversee tech firms that provide critical services to the financial industry.
The government is concerned about the growing dependence of banks on cloud computing, as these services are mostly provided by a handful of players. If many firms rely on the same third party for material services and this company fails, it could have a systemic impact across the financial system, the government argues.
WhatsApp Has Until July to Comply With EU Consumer Law, Regulator Says
Meta’s WhatsApp has until July to show that a privacy policy update introduced in January complies with EU consumer law, the European Commission said Wednesday, in a case prompted by complaints from consumer bodies across Europe.
“WhatsApp must ensure that users understand what they accept and how their personal data is used for commercial purposes, in particular, to offer services to business partners,” said Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders in a statement.
UK Sets Course to Woo Big Tech
The U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is due to publish a digital strategy that will put together many of the government’s existing tech policies into one document, according to the Financial Times. The U.K. government has been working for years on a national strategic plan to become an artificial intelligence (AI) “superpower.”
EU Agrees on Single Charger, Despite Apple’s Opposition
By autumn 2024, USB Type-C will become the common charging port for all mobile phones, tablets and cameras in the European Union, Parliament and Council negotiators agreed Tuesday. Under the new rules, consumers will no longer need a different charging device and cable every time they purchase a new device, and can use one single charger for all of their small and medium-sized portable electronic devices. Mobile phones, tablets, e-readers, earbuds, digital cameras, headphones and headsets, handheld videogame consoles and portable speakers that are rechargeable via a wired cable will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C port, regardless of their manufacturer.
EU Lawmakers Meet With Airbnb on Hosting Rules
Airbnb Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Nathan Blecharczyk recently hosted members of the European Parliament to talk about updating European Union rules to help address hosting issues.
According to a company blog post published Monday (June 6), the discussions centered around how Airbnb and EU leaders can work on building sustainable tourism models that both help locals and protect communities.
Crypto
UK Government Pushes for Crypto Sandbox, Stablecoin Regulation
Gwyneth Nurse, the United Kingdom Treasury’s director general for financial services, said that the use of distributed ledger technology (DLT), which is the underlying technology used by crypto assets, is a key priority for making financial markets more innovative. To this end, the U.K. will launch a regulatory sandbox next year for testing DLT projects under the supervision of regulators.
One of the purposes of this new sandbox would be to try DLT projects involving activities such as trading, clearing and settlement, to be able to issue bonds or stock in hours rather than days or weeks, for example.
BIS Doubts Public Blockchains Could Be Used for Payments
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published a report highlighting the difficulties for public blockchains to become a suitable and successful means of payments. Building on permissionless blockchains, crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) seeks to create a radically different monetary system, but the method suffers from inherent limitations, the BIS argued. A system sustained by rewarding a set of decentralized but self-interested validators through fees means that network effects cannot unfold. Instead, the system is prone to fragmentation and costly to use. Fragmentation means that crypto cannot fulfill the social role of money.
Payments
EU Council’s Amendments to Consumer Credit Bill Favor BNPL Providers
The EU Council, one of the legislative bodies of the European Union, agreed on Thursday (June 9) its position on the revision of the consumer credit directive (CDD), paving the way for the interinstitutional negotiations that may start by the end June. Policymakers agreed on including several amendments to the original proposal submitted by the European Commission that may reduce transparency requirements for buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers.
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