For now, the biggest questions still lack clarity: is scanning a photograph and not a face a violation of the law? Is there a legal precedent for ‘concrete injury’ as it relates to biometric data? The answers may have billion-plus dollar ramifications for tech companies, privacy advocates, and product users alike.
The notion that data is the property of consumers—and not businesses that collect it—is a relatively new (but impactful) premise. Until national legislation is introduced, California’s CCPA looks to be the standard-setter across the US for the time being.
Facebook, Twitter, and Google have all established different positions on political ad policies, underscoring the complexity of political advertising in the digital era.
The legal application of antitrust law to technology companies is being slowly defined in real-time by courtrooms and lawmakers.
The online free speech debates show no signs of abating, with ideas of what is or isn’t acceptable still being shaped by courts and companies alike.
With lawmakers poised to take regulatory action, the most impactful question for technology companies like Facebook and Google is whether the U.S. will borrow from Europe’s model or create an entire new set of regulations.
The New York Times is reporting that the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be splitting oversight of Google and Amazon, a move which seems to signal impending changes.
Legislation is being passed to hold social media platforms like Facebook responsible for the content that is available on them.
Facial recognition technology may have some concerning side effects. An MIT report found bias in Amazon’s popular facial recognition system.
For the first time in memory, previously unassailable companies found themselves squarely in government and public crosshairs alike, answering for a series of (often data-centric) misdeeds.
