Topic: Regulation
Uber Under Investigation by DoJ Over Foreign Bribery Allegations (Aug 29, 2017)
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Tesla’s Rapid Autopilot Rollout Unnerved Some Engineers, Reports WSJ (Aug 24, 2017)
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★ FTC and Whole Foods Shareholders Approve Amazon Acquisition (Aug 23, 2017)
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Spotify is Talking to the SEC About its Planned Direct NYSE Listing (Aug 21, 2017)
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★ Uber Penalized by FTC for Misrepresenting Privacy Practices (Aug 15, 2017)
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Facebook Quietly Tests Chinese App Waters with Moments Clone (Aug 11, 2017)
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Tencent, Baidu and Sina Under Investigation in China Over Failure to Police Content (Aug 11, 2017)
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FCC is Mulling Rule Change to Make Mobile Sufficient for Broadband Coverage (Aug 10, 2017)
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Tesla is Working with CA and NV Regulators to Prep for Autonomous Trucks (Aug 9, 2017)
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Apple Removes VPN Apps from Chinese Version of App Store (Jul 31, 2017)
Apple has removed VPN apps from the Chinese version of its App Store for iOS devices, in compliance with the Chinese government’s edict that VPNs have to be licensed to be able to operate. This is yet another example of the difficult line foreign tech companies have to walk in China, complying for the most part with local regulations, even those designed to enable censorship, while preserving freedom of speech in other markets around the world. This is a gray area that Apple hasn’t had to deal with as much as content-centric companies like Facebook and Google, both of which eventually exited China (one forced out, the other choosing to leave rather than submit to censorship requirements), but that’s been starting to change. In the past year and a half, we’ve seen some of Apple’s content offerings like iBooks, individual apps like the New York Times, and now categories such as VPNs blocked, while the government has also forced cloud service providers to work through local companies for data centers. As I’ve said before, so far Apple can simply say it’s complying with local laws and regulations as it does elsewhere, and that will provide some cover, although it hasn’t insulated it entirely from criticism over this latest move. This move in particular further reduces the ability of users with Chinese App Store accounts to get access to otherwise blocked news and information, but a recent crackdown on VPN use makes that challenging anyway. But so far the Chinese government hasn’t forced Apple to break any of its own cardinal rules, including protecting user privacy and security. If and when the Chinese government ever does cross that line, that will be the real test for Apple and could end up being very bad for its business in China. So far, thankfully, it hasn’t come to that. Also worth noting in this context: Russia has just passed legislation that bans the use of VPNs in the country, and although it’s a far less important market for Apple than China, the company will have to deal with some of the same issues there once the law kicks in this November.
via TechCrunch
Congress Invites Tech and Carrier CEOs to Testify on Net Neutrality Legislation (Jul 25, 2017)
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Regulators and Academics Begin Pondering Breaking up Big Tech Companies (Jul 24, 2017)
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Chinese Censors Now Block Images in Unencrypted Messaging Apps in Flight (Jul 18, 2017)
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Judge Rules Google Doesn’t Have to Hand Over All Records Requested by DoL (Jul 17, 2017)
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Tencent Imposes Restrictions on Children’s Use of Popular Mobile Game (Jul 5, 2017)
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Alphabet’s DeepMind Deal with UK Health Service Deemed Illegal by Regulator (Jul 3, 2017)
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Facebook Beats User Privacy Lawsuit, Fights Gag Order over Government Searches (Jul 3, 2017)
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Germany Passes Law Requiring <24 Hour Removal of Hate Speech or Payment of Fines (Jun 30, 2017)
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President Trump Expected to Nominate FCC General Counsel as Final Commissioner (Jun 28, 2017)
A little while ago, I covered the news that Jessica Rosenworcel had been nominated to fill the vacant Democratic slot at the FCC, and posited that a Republican nomination must be coming soon so as to preserve the Republican advantage on the Commission. It now seems as though Brendan Carr, currently acting as general counsel at the FCC and a key ally to Chairman Ajit Pai, will take that last slot. Given the controversy around net neutrality, that majority is critical to making the changes Pai has proposed, and on the basis that both these nominees are likely to be pushed through together, things should work out fine for the Trump administration. As I said while commenting on the Rosenworcel nomination, telecoms policy is one of the few areas where the Trump administration has been able to move quickly without either Congressional or legal barriers, so it will be keen to keep the agenda moving forward quickly. Update: the nomination was confirmed later in the day.
via Recode
Safety Advocates and Carmakers Speak in Congress on Autonomous Driving (Jun 27, 2017)
The US House Energy and Commerce panel held hearings today on proposed legislation to regulate the licensing of autonomous vehicles for testing on roads. There is, of course, quite a bit of that testing going on already in various states throughout the US, but the Congressional effort aims to unify regulation on the topic and create a single set of policies nationally as a result. The carmakers are, in theory, in favor of that, but only if it reflects the lighter-touch approaches currently being taken by states like California, while safety advocates are pushing for tighter regulation, more testing, and generally slowing things down. There are sensible arguments being made on both sides here – no-one, least of all the carmakers, wants high-profile accidents featuring self-driving cars putting the whole field back by years. But given the potential of autonomous driving to increase safety over time, there are also strong safety-centric arguments for allowing reasonable testing to go on without burdensome oversight. Given the current state of US politics, I’m not 100% confident that we’ll get a sensible bit of legislation out of all this, but I do think that it’s inevitable and welcome that we’ll eventually have a national framework for not just testing but ultimately selling autonomous vehicles. Testing is an area that needs to be addressed today, but commercial vehicle sales are several years away and as such there’s time to get this stuff right and no need to rush into anything today. But there are some really thorny issues here that do need to be thought through in great detail, not least questions of liability and responsibility.
via Bloomberg