Issue #70 – Friday, 28th January 2022

Dear readers, 

They’re out! Our predictions for 2022 centre on a tug-of-war, mainly between governments and companies, on some tough geopolitical and geo-economic issues. For instance, how can (or should) governments deal with tech companies’ massive economic power while preserving the way the internet connects everyone and everything? Some tough decisions and trade-offs are in store. Read the full text in English or in French. 

This week's developments are precisely an example of our predicted tug-of-war: From the European Commission’s proposed rights and principles to guide the rules of the (digital) road and those of the Cyber Administration of China to regulate deepfakes, to more antitrust and data protection court cases. And this is just the beginning.

Stay safe,
Stephanie and the Digital Watch team

// DIGITAL RIGHTS //

European Commission proposes declaration on digital rights and principles

The European Commission wants to ensure that the digital transformation in the EU follows a set of human-centred rights and principles. 

Its announcement, in the form of a communication to the Parliament and Council establishing the proposed European declaration on Digital Rights and Principles, includes principles such as internet access for all, a secure online space, the right to learn digital skills, algorithms that respect rights, and the protection of children online. The charter, first announced last year, forms part of the EU’s Digital Decade strategy, which sets ambitious targets for 2030. 

// DATA PROTECTION //

Google sued by states over location tracking using ‘dark patterns’

In the USA, a group of state attorneys general are each suing Alphabet Inc.’s Google, arguing that the company tracks people’s location using deceptive tactics, or ‘dark patterns’. The lawsuits have been filed in the District of Columbia, Texas, Washington, and Indiana.

The offending practices include devices using Google’s Android operating system as well as Google apps and web-based services such as search and maps.

• Citing a 2018 Associated Press report, the lawsuits argue that even when consumers turn off location tracking on their phones, Google continues to track their movements using a separate function called Web & App activity. They claim the company has since removed a consumer notice stating that ‘the places you go are no longer stored. 
• Citing internal Google discussions, the lawsuits also argue that the company has conflicting and confusing user settings, making it almost impossible for consumers to stop Google from collecting their location data. 
• The lawsuits also say: ‘Regardless of the settings they select, consumers who use Google products have no option but to allow the company to collect, store and use their location.’

A spokesman for Alphabet said the lawsuits ‘are based on inaccurate claims and outdated assertions about our settings’.

// GIG ECONOMY //

Uber and Deliveroo workers will be reclassified as employees, according to trade unions

Europe’s biggest gig companies are unlikely to pass the tests laid down by the EU to determine whether their staff are genuinely self-employed, according to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Referring to the European Commission’s proposed directive on improving the working conditions of gig workers – such as drivers and couriers working for companies like Uber, Lyft, and Deliveroo – the union said the workers would automatically be reclassified from self-employed to employees under the draft rules.

// ANTITRUST //

US states back Epic Games in its antitrust battle against Apple

Attorneys general from 34 states plus the District of Columbia are backing Epic in its lengthy legal battle, now in the appeals phase, against Apple and its app distribution monopoly.

Reacting to the ruling, which allowed Apple to continue most of its practices, the AGs said that ‘Apple continues to monopolise app distribution and in-app payment solutions for iPhones, stifle competition, and amass supracompetitive profits’. 

In September 2021, the US District Court of California ruled that Apple must change its anti-steering rules which have so far prohibited developers from steering users to alternative in-app payment systems. In December, however, an appeals court paused the enforcement of this order until the entire case ended.

Dutch antitrust regulator fines Apple for failure to comply with its ruling

In the Netherlands, the landscape is a tad stricter. The Dutch Authority for Consumer and Markets is not quite happy with Apple’s efforts. The company has not yet fully adjusted its systems to comply with a 2021 order, which obliged the allow dating-app providers to use an alternative payment system other than Apple’s own, the regulator said. 

The company must pay a €5 million (US$5.57 million) fine. It risks incurring the same penalty each week if it fails to make further adjustments to its payment policy.

Intel wins antitrust case as court scraps European Commission’s €1.06 billion fine

Intel did much better than Apple (much to the EU antitrust regulators’ dismay): The company has won its legal fight against the hefty €1.06 billion (US$1.18 billion) fine imposed by the European Commission in 2009. 

At the time, Intel was fined for trying to block rival AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) by giving rebates to computer makers Dell, HP, and others in exchange for buying most of their chips from Intel. 

In its ruling, the Luxembourg-based General Court said that the European Commission’s analysis, back then, was ‘incomplete and does not make it possible to establish to the requisite legal standard that the rebates at issue were capable of having, or likely to have, anticompetitive effects,’

// CRYPTO //

Meta gives up on Diem (then-Libra)

Meta (then-Facebook) has given up its cryptocurrency project Diem. The Wall Street Journal revealed that Diem is selling its technology to a small California bank, Silvergate Capital, for about $200 million (€179 million).

The project Libra was announced in 2018 and launched in 2019 but faced tough regulatory scrutiny and the departure of founding members PayPal, Mastercard, and Vodafone almost immediately. The sale of the project’s assets will most likely be used to pay back (some of) its initial funding.