Is it possible to violate the right to privacy without human beings? Legally, privacy is of a dual character: as (i) objective right,where it constitutes all legal provisions, national or international privacy of persons in three dimensions: minimum interference of public authority in particular relationships, protection of personal data and free personality development; and as… [Read More]
News
US Dept of Justice launches Google antitrust lawsuit
Company accused of ‘maintaining power through exclusionary practices’ A lawsuit against Google has been launched by the Department of Justice, reports Ars Technica. The company behaved ‘anticompetitively’ and ‘unfairly pushed out rivals in its search businesses’, the suit alleges. ‘Google is the gateway to the Internet’, said the DOJ and has ‘maintained its power through exclusionary practices that… [Read More]
Automation accelerated by pandemic, says WEF report
Companies step up plans for digitisation, with jobs expected to be lost Reuters reports on a survey by the World Economic Forum which suggests that companies will accelerate the replacement of humans ‘with robots’ as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It sees job creation slowing and job destruction accelerating as companies around the world use… [Read More]
Big tech wields monopoly power, says congressional panel
Online platforms should be separated from other business lines A report by the House Antitrust Subcommittee in Washington concludes that America’s largest technology companies are stifling competition, reports the Wall Street Journal. It describes Facebook and Google as having monopoly power, while Apple and Amazon have ‘significant and durable’ market power, and concludes that options including the… [Read More]
No evidence that Cambridge Analytica misused data
Digital Group used ‘well recognised processes’ in political campaigns The UK Information Commissioner’s Office has concluded a 3 year investigation into Cambridge Analytica and its parent group, SCL, concluding that there was no evidence that it misused data in either the 2016 Brexit campaign, or the US presidential election in the same year. The Financial Times… [Read More]
Google commits $1 billion in payments for news
Publishers will be paid to ‘select and create’ content Google CEO Sundar Pichai has announced the launch of ‘Google News Showcase’, in which publishers will be paid for news content, reports Reuters. The product builds on licensing deals previously struck with media groups, and will launch first in Germany before rolling out globally. About 200 publishers are… [Read More]