Digital Platform Policy Highlights - Digest 8
This edition has a special focus on regulatory "bans", Internet of Vehicles, Metaverse projects and Foreign Trade Policies
This post is part two of a series documenting policy changes and feature improvements introduced by platforms in March 2023. You can read part 1 here.
TL;DR → In the Digital Tech Regulatory Space,
Wuxi China pioneers the “Internet of Vehicles” (IoV) regulation
Artists Take Generative AI companies to the court
(Potential) Policy changes in response to (Potential) external regulation
During March 2023, the digital tech landscape witnessed various external regulatory measures that could potentially trigger policy changes on digital platforms.
First, a few regulatory “bans”
How is TikTok responding to some “credible” threat of bans
The advocates of TikTok ban highlight two key threats that are amplified by the popularity of TikTok. One is a law in China which allows the Government to compel companies to share sensitive data for intelligence-gathering exercise. The other is the possibility for state actors to manipulate TikTok recommendations to spur misinformation. In the US, Montana has become the first state to officially ban TikTok, triggering a long legal battle. TikTok has responded with a mix of soft and hard strategies: denying any Chinese government involvement, suing the governments that have banned it, and distancing itself from ByteDance, its parent. (link)
State of Utah attempts to curb underage social media access.
Utah’s sweeping new law may sharply restrict the ability of children and teens to access social media. The law will set a curfew by default for underage users, require parents to give their “explicit” consent for their kids to join social media, and give parents access to their children’s posts, messages, and responses. The measures are ostensibly about addressing mental health hazards posed to young users by social media. Yet some experts warn that the law may paradoxically exacerbate the issue by cutting off youth from their peers in other states. Arkansas and Texas are considering even tougher restrictions on under-18 users. (link)
Italy bans ChatGPT
Citing privacy concerns along with unlawful data collection and the lack of an age-verification system to filter illicit material, Italy’s data protection agency blocked access to ChatGPT inside the country. As a result, Italy joins a small but growing group of nations that have banned the AI chatbot (including Russia, Iran, and North Korea). Italy is the only country so far to have banned ChatGPT over privacy concerns, a reflection of stronger privacy laws and attitudes in Europe compared to the US. (link)
WeChat may be next in line to TikTok in the US
WeChat, a popular China-based messaging app used by close to 20 million users in the US, is a dominant channel to stay in touch with family, friends, and business partners in China and elsewhere. Some users worry that the same data collection and privacy concerns the US regulators quote in taking action against TikTok could apply to WeChat as well, and proposed legislation in Congress may also lead to banning WeChat. As US-China relations deteriorate, and extensive bans on US platforms in China, the response of WeChat to this concern is worth watching. Perhaps start with separating its US operations from its Chinese parent company, Tencent? (link)
Other Regulations that are of interest
Wuxi China pioneers the “Internet of Vehicles” (IoV) regulation
While other countries are still figuring out regulations for IoT (Internet of Things), Wuxi, a city near Shanghai, has issued the country’s first draft regulation for internet of vehicles (IoV), a technology that allows vehicles to communicate with each other and with traffic infrastructure. Set to take effect from March 2023, the draft regulation reflects Wuxi’s leading role in the IoV sector in China: Wuxi is home to the first national-level IoV pilot zone and hosts the World Internet of Things Expo. (link)
Amazon India Calls for Changes in Foreign Trade Policy
It seems when unsold inventory from India that is housed in warehouses across the globe is returned to India, Amazon India (read: sellers) must pay import duties! To fix these issues, Amazon India has called for changes in the foreign trade policy (FTP) to simplify compliance and customs-related processes for e-commerce exports. With these changes, Amazon hopes to expand its e-commerce operation in India, a country where it already operates programs to entice sellers onto its global e-commerce platform (link)
South Korea Launches Fund to Support Metaverse Projects
After a Bahrain’s institute opening a metaverse campus (read here), South Korea has launched a fund dedicated to supporting metaverse projects. The government has invested 27.7 billion Korean won ($21 million) into local services looking to utilize the metaverse in sectors such as tourism, education, and healthcare. With the fund, the country is taking an aggressive approach towards becoming a key player in the metaverse by 2026. Careful thinking is required for the metaverse risks, especially privacy and security, and we hope South Korea is up to it. (link)
Artists Take Generative AI companies to the court
As anticipated, numerous artists are seeking legal remedy to protect their livelihood. As noted in the article, artists such as such as Sarah Andersen and Karla Ortiz have filed a class-action lawsuit against DreamUp, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, hoping to establish legal precedents governing such generative AI models. Their core argument is that mimicking styles of artists who are alive and are dependent on their unique style to earn their livelihood is not acceptable. The intellectual property rights and the value of originality in art are the second order questions. “What AI owes to artists” may also be an important regulatory/legislative question (link)
Research help from Anantesh Mohapatra, Melvin Jabamani, Yiran Liu (Thanks a ton, folks!)