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6 things to watch on this autumn’s tech agenda

6 things to watch on this autumn’s tech agenda

Google's logo | Oliver Berg/EPA

6 things to watch on this autumn’s tech agenda

Consumer rights, data flows legislation and the Google antitrust case are all on the agenda.

By

9/4/17, 6:00 AM CET

Updated 5/13/18, 8:44 PM CET

The rest of the year will be busy in the tech arena, with cybersecurity dominating the conversation.

But there’s other tech action coming down the pike. Here’s some of what to expect:

Clarity for Big Tech: Twitter, Facebook and Google are expected to get some much-needed clarity on how to flag and remove everything from illegal hate speech to child pornography to terrorist content. Digital Vice President Andrus Ansip vowed to present some guidance or initiative in September. European Commission officials are also expected to meet that month to decide if, after they release guidance, they will draft EU-wide legislation tackling the issue. Europe’s highest court is expected to rule on whether Uber is a transportation company or a passive internet intermediary at some point this autumn, although the date is not yet clear.

Data flows legislation: The Commission should release its long-promised data flows legislation. Expectations are high because policymakers have taken months to craft and retool a proposal that had not been approved by the Commission’s tough regulatory scrutiny board as of August. Expect something concrete discouraging governments from requiring companies to store data within their national borders, as well as consumers’ and businesses’ rights to take their data to other service providers.

Consumer rights protection: Expect Commissioner for Justice and Consumers Vĕra Jourová to make one final push to beef up consumer protection online. Expect legislation on transparency obligations to consumers for big platforms and updates to the Consumer Rights Directive and the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive in the second half of autumn. The Commission and national consumer protection authorities also set a hard deadline of the end of September for Twitter, Facebook and Google to improve terms and conditions for consumers. If nothing changes by that deadline, consumer authorities threaten to launch coordinated action against the big platforms, including potential fines.

Inter-institutional battles: Geo-blocking rules, which the Council’s Maltese presidency failed to wrap up, are still being negotiated between the Council, Parliament and the Commission. These changes would force online retailers to sell to consumers, regardless of where they live. Institutions have locked horns over whether to ban online geo-blocking for e-books and music. New rules for audiovisual media are also on the table. In September, negotiators are expected to dive into whether to force online video-sharing platforms, like YouTube and Facebook, to monitor harmful or offensive content more effectively in broadcasts.

Google antitrust case: The Commission’s antitrust probe into Google Shopping, which resulted in a record-breaking €2.4 billion fine at the end of June, dominated headlines leading into the summer break. That’s far from the last we’ll hear about Google Shopping, with the Commission and the search giant set to spend autumn haggling over remedies and likely responding to court submissions. The Commission also will continue to probe other Google business lines. It issued formal charges alleging that Google is using its Android mobile operating system to hamper rivals, and that advertising unit AdSense for search imposes anti-competitive clauses on websites.

Digital single market: A number of tech files proposed by the Commission since 2015 are still being discussed either in the Parliament or Council. Copyright and telecoms reforms are the two big-ticket items. As it stands, Council and Parliament seem to be leaning toward some of the Commission’s controversial original proposals on copyright. A new right for traditional media publishers to monetize their content online is gaining ground with the help of strong French, German and Spanish support. That’s despite an aggressive lobbying campaign from Google, Facebook and others to stop an EU-wide right in its tracks.

Mark Scott and Laurens Cerulus contributed reporting. 

Authors:
Joanna Plucinska 

and

Nicholas Hirst 
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