Heightened debate in US as EU privacy rules take effect

Yahoo – AFP, Rob Lever, May 25, 2018

New EU privacy rules require online services such as Facebook to get consent
for how personal data is accessed and shared (AFP Photo/Mladen ANTONOV)

Washington (AFP) - Amid a global scramble to comply with new EU data protections laws, the debate on privacy has intensified in the United States with some calling for similar measures for Americans, and others warning the rules could fracture the global internet.

US tech firms, and virtually all companies with online operations, will need to comply with the rules if their sites are used in the European Union, or face hefty financial penalties.

Some American firms, including news sites like the Los Angeles Times and New York Daily News, blocked access in the EU because they were unable to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation, which took effect Friday.

Other US websites have shut down entirely, and some have hired consultants to help shut off access for any users in Europe.

Large US tech firms have pledged compliance with the EU rules, and have in many cases promised to extend the same protections worldwide.

But legal challenges filed in Europe accused Google and Facebook of failing to abide by the new law.

Why not in US?

Some US activists argue that the implementation offers an opportunity to give more privacy and data protection benefits to Americans.

New EU data protection rules are likely to radically change how websites use
and share personal information and track users (AFP Photo/Pau Barrena)

"We see no reason why US companies, as they strive to comply with the new European policies, cannot extend the GDPR standard to American consumers," said Katharina Kopp of the Center for Digital Democracy, one of 28 activist groups endorsing a letter in that vein to major US and global companies.

Senator Ed Markey and three fellow lawmakers introduced a resolution this week that would call on firms to offer the same protections of the European law in the US.

"The American people are going to wonder why they are getting second-class privacy protections," said Markey.

The law establishes the key principle that individuals must explicitly grant permission for their data to be used, and give consumers a right to know who is accessing their information and what it will be used for.

Companies can be fined up to 20 million euros ($24 million) or four percent of annual global turnover for violations.

Cumbersome, confusing

GDPR critics argue the law is confusing and cumbersome, and could lead to unintended effects on both sides of the Atlantic.

Daniel Castro of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank, called GDPR "a confusing and impractical set of rules" that offers consumers little benefit.

Some analysts fear that news organizations unable to comply with EU data 

rules will cut off some users, resulting in a "splinternet" where different information 

is available depending on one's region (AFP Photo/Karen BLEIER)

"Instead of hiring engineers, companies are hiring privacy lawyers," Castro said in a blog post with researcher Alan McQuinn.

Ryan Radia of the Competitive Enterprise Institute said that although GDPR was aimed at Big Tech, it is likely to strengthen the grip of large internet firms.

"This will result in greater market concentration, as small firms and startups will find it difficult to comply with the increased regulatory cost burden," Radia said.

Amy Webb, a fellow at Harvard's Nieman Foundation and founder of the Future Today Institute, warned the new law could lead to a "splinternet" with different kinds of data available in various regions of the world, and could be particularly cumbersome for news organizations.

"It's plausible within a decade, we could find ourselves stuck in a new digital divide, where many disparate splinternets behave and function differently, depending on where in the world the net is being accessed," she said in a blog post this week.

Webb said news organizations could find it especially difficult to comply because of the need for consent in organizing feeds and promoting content.

"The business model for news, already tenuous, could be further weakened," she said.

Henry Farrell, a George Washington University professor who follows transatlantic relations, said the entire business model of the tech sector could be at risk from GDPR.

"This is a fundamental attack on the 'two sided market' profit model that e-commerce companies have pioneered of providing services to individuals, while watching their behavior and feeding up access or data to advertisers," Farrell said in a tweet Friday.

Chip machinery maker ASML wins first order from China

DutchNews, May 16, 2018

Photo: ASML 

Chipmachine marker ASML of Veldhoven has won its first-ever order from China, the Financieele Dagblad reported on Wednesday. 

The paper said Chinese Semiconductor Manufacturing International has ordered a $120m extreme ultraviolet lithography machine from ASML which never identifies its customers. Citing Nikkei Asian Review the FD said this is the latest in a series of orders for the EUV machines from ASML. 

Taiwan-based TSMC has ordered eight of the EUV machines, Samsung six and Intel three while GlobalFoundries of the US has ordered one. At the presentation of first-quarter figures in April, ASML said it had booked orders for 20 of the machines. 

EUV technology allows the industry to continue to print smaller features onto ever-more complex chips. It is carried out in a vacuum using a plasma to produce EUV light using highly sophisticated mirrors instead of lenses to project the circuit patterns onto silicon wafers. 

Today’s silicon chips have features as small as 40 nanometers – less than a few hundred atoms across – and ASML says EUV lithography tools will be used to print even smaller 

Using EUV to print transistors this small is equivalent to printing an image the size of a human eye on the surface of the earth from a space shuttle . . . and then printing another image on top of the first one with perfect alignment, the company says.

EU data laws set to bite after Facebook scandal

Yahoo – AFP, Cédric SIMON, May 14, 2018

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg tells the US House Committee on Energy and
Commerce how the company will boost personal data protection as the EU's
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect May 25 (AFP Photo/
SAUL LOEB)

Brussels (AFP) - New European Union data protection laws take effect on May 25 to protect users' online information, in what Brussels touts as a global benchmark after the Facebook scandal.

The laws will cover large tech companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook that use personal data as an advertising goldmine, as well as firms like banks and also public bodies.

One major change is that consumers must explicitly grant permission for their data to be used, while they can also specifically ask for their personal information to be deleted.

Firms face huge fines of up to 20 million euros ($24 million) or four percent of annual global turnover for failing to comply with the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

"It's your data -- take control," the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, urges the bloc's 500 million citizens in guidelines for the new rules.

The case for the new rules has been boosted by the recent scandal over the harvesting of Facebook users' data by Cambridge Analytica, a US-British political research firm, for the 2016 US presidential election.

Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg told US lawmakers last month the firm plans to fall into line with the EU rules as it seeks to rebuild its reputation after the breach, which affected 87 million users.

'Living in a jungle'

The scandal has proved a godsend for the EU.

EU Justice Commissioner Vera Jourova told AFP in an interview that the incident fueled "a campaign" for the new European law in a way that she could never have done.

She said the EU was setting a global benchmark for data protection as many Americans who once criticised Europe as too set on regulation now see the need for the GDPR.

European Justice Commissionner Vera Jourova faces the press ahead of the 

May 25 coming into force of the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (AFP 

Photo/Emmanuel DUNAND)

The Facebook scandal showed "that we really are living in the kind of jungle where we are losing ourselves," the Czech commissioner added.

But not everything has run smoothly.

At least eight of the 28 EU countries will not have updated their laws by May 25.

The lack of preparedness comes despite the fact that the new laws were officially adopted two years ago, with a grace period until now to adapt to the rules.

This "will create some legal uncertainty," Jourova said, blaming countries for neglect rather than resistance to the law.

Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter have all started in the last few weeks to alter their terms of use, but the situation appears more complicated for small- and medium-sized firms.

'Brave choice'

In Germany, the chamber of commerce and industry expressed fears smaller companies may react defiantly to what they call "excessive red tape" under threat of fines.

The new EU law establishes consumers' "right to know" who is processing their information and what it will be used for.

Individuals will be able to block the processing of their data for commercial reasons and even have data deleted under the "right to be forgotten."

They will have to be warned when there is unauthorised access, with the law establishing the key principle that individuals must explicitly grant permission for their data to be used.

Parents will decide for children until they reach the age of consent, which member states will set anywhere between 13 and 16 years old.

In return, EU officials argue that digital firms will benefit from regulation that restores consumer confidence and replaces the patchwork of national laws.

European leaders have backed the new laws.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in a speech in Germany last week that he welcomed the "brave choice" of the new law, calling it a cornerstone in a new "digital sovereignty."

Google to show who is behind US political ads

Yahoo – AFP, May 4, 2018

Google announces new rules for placing online US election ads on the social
media platform (AFP Photo/Lionel BONAVENTURE)

San Francisco (AFP) - Google on Friday said that people looking to place US election ads on its platform will need to show identification, and make clear who is paying.

Policy changes being rolled out come as online ad 'duopoly' Google and Facebook strive to avoid being used to spread misleading or divisive ads aimed at voters.

"Our work on elections goes far beyond improving policies for advertising," Google senior vice president Kent Walker said in a blog post.

"We're investing heavily in keeping our own platforms secure and working with campaigns, elections officials, journalists, and others to help ensure the security of the online platforms that they depend on. "

Google promised last year to make political advertising more transparent.

New policies for US election ads were a 'first step' in fulfilling that vow, according to Walker.

Google said that it will require anyone seeking to buy election ads in the US to prove they are legal residents, as required by law.

"That means advertisers will have to provide a government-issued ID and other key information," Walker said.

Ads will have to clearly disclose who is paying for them, according to Walker.

Google later this year will release a new report showing who is buying election-related ads on the platform and how much money is being spent.

The California-based firm also said it is building a searchable library of election ads bought at Google and who paid for them.

Facebook last year announced that only authorized advertisers would be permitted to run election ads at the leading social network and its photo and video-sharing service Instagram.

In April, Facebook extended that rule to "issue ads" such as hot-button political topics in the US.

"We are working with third parties to develop a list of key issues, which we will refine over time," Facebook vice presidents Rob Goldman and Alex Himel said in a blog post.

"Advertisers will be prohibited from running political ads — electoral or issue-based — until they are authorized."

Political ads will be marked as such, and include information about who paid for them, according to Facebook.

The social network also added a requirement that pages with large numbers of followers be verified, to make it harder for people to use fake accounts to influence politics.

"We know we were slow to pick up foreign interference in the 2016 US elections," Goldman and Himel said in the post.

The updates at Facebook were "designed to prevent future abuse in elections," they explained.

Related Article:

Cambridge Analytica to close after Facebook data scandal

Cambridge Analytica to close after Facebook data scandal

Yahoo – AFP, 3 May 2018

Cambridge Analytica, hired by Donald Trump's presidential campaign, said it had
been "vilified" in recent months over "numerous unfounded accusations", which
had decimated its business

Cambridge Analytica, the British marketing analytics firm, announced Wednesday that it was closing and would file for insolvency in Britain and the United States after failing to recover from the Facebook data scandal.

The decision follows weeks of intense pressure on the company, hired by Donald Trump's presidential campaign, after allegations emerged it may have hijacked up to 87 million Facebook users' data.

It claimed it has been "vilified" by the "numerous unfounded accusations" which torpedoed its business and left the firm with "no realistic alternative" but to go into administration.

"Despite Cambridge Analytica's unwavering confidence that its employees have acted ethically and lawfully... the siege of media coverage has driven away virtually all of the company's customers and suppliers," it said in a statement.

"As a result, it has been determined that it is no longer viable to continue operating the business."

An affiliate of British firm Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL), CA has offices in London, New York, Washington, as well as Brazil and Malaysia.

It drew attention after former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon reportedly once sat on its board and was bankrolled to the tune of $15 million (12.5 million euros)by US billionaire and Republican donor Robert Mercer.

Estimate by Facebook of the number of people affected by the Cambridge

Analytica affair in the world

It first became embroiled in scandal in March when Canadian whistleblower Christopher Wylie, a 28-year-old former analyst for the firm, revealed it had created psychological profiles of tens of millions of Facebook users via a personality prediction app.

The revelations instantly reverberated around the world, wiping billions from the social media giant's market value and drawing scrutiny from politicians and regulators on both sides of the Atlantic.

To make matters worse for CA, CEO Alexander Nix was suspended within days after he was filmed by undercover reporters bragging about ways to win political campaigns, including through blackmail and honey traps.

As the crisis intensified, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg was forced to apologise to its billions of users amid a small but growing exodus from the site.

He eventually appeared before Congress for a two-day grilling by lawmakers, and has since vowed to overhaul the way the Facebook shares its users' data.

In Britain, regulators ratcheted up a probe into CA, raiding its London offices, and later extending the investigation to 30 organisations, including Facebook.

A second whistleblower from the firm also emerged at a parliamentary hearing in April claiming Britons' personal data may have been misused by a pro-Brexit campaign ahead of the 2016 referendum in which Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Earlier this month, Facebook upped its count of the number of people impacted, admitting that up to 87 million users may have had their data harvested.

CA has vehemently denied exploiting that data for Trump's election campaign, claiming it deleted data obtained in breach of the social network's terms of service.

The silhouettes of people are seen inside the offices of Cambridge Analytica in 

London on March 23, 2018, just hours after a judge approved a search warrant of 

the offices

At a London press conference last week a CA spokesman claimed the company was "no Bond villain" and had broken no laws.

It hired British barrister Julian Malins to conduct an independent investigation into what it termed "a torrent of ill-informed and inaccurate speculation" and posted his report on its website Wednesday.

"(The) report... concluded that the allegations were not 'borne out by the facts'," CA said.

"(It) has been vilified for activities that are not only legal, but also widely accepted as a standard component of online advertising in both the political and commercial arenas," it added.

But the company conceded the crisis had taken too heavy a toll and said its board had appointed lawyers in Britain to oversee the insolvency process, and would be following suit in America.

CA said that although its financial condition was "precarious" it intended "to fully meet its obligations to its employees"

Initial reaction to the news in Britain was guarded.

Damian Collins MP, chair of a parliamentary committee that held the hearings on the issue and questioned Nix in February and Facebook executives last month, warned CA "cannot be allowed to delete their data history by closing".

"The investigations into their work are vital," he added.

VIDEO: Cambridge Analytica, the British marketing analytics firm, announces it is closing and will file for insolvency after failing to recover from the Facebook data scandal pic.twitter.com/VJUlRL0prA

— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 3, 2018