We've got: crypto on the rise, new antitrust crackdowns, geopolitical tensions, and more...
RoG Weekly Roundup #1
This week, crypto’s got some exciting new announcements; Google and Apple faces new challenges; and it seems that the Biden administration isn’t quite ready to make friends with China. Continue reading to find out more…
💰 Crypto: Here to Stay
Facebook’s diem may be coming sooner than you expect — the Diem Association is hoping to pilot with a single stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar in 2021. Previously known as the Libra, the Facebook-backed digital coin faced regulatory pushbacks when it was first revealed. With over 2.8 billion monthly users, Facebook’s global reach means that the Diem has huge potential to serve as a supranational currency, but also presents challenges for monetary stability as well as AML/CFT controls. Further, scrutiny against the diem is intensified by Facebook’s lacklustre privacy history (learn about Facebook’s privacy scandal here).
Regardless, the Diem Association, which oversees the coin’s development, is in the process of securing a payment license with the Swiss financial regulators. According to Christian Catalini, Diem’s chief economist, we will most likely see a phased approach to launch, with different functionalities and use cases being brought in gradually.
The diem’s launch isn’t the only thing to look forward to in the crypto world. On the other side, China’s pilot launch of its central bank digital currency, also known as the DC/EP, may have nudged other nations to follow up — the Bank of England has launched its own taskforce on digital currency. Keen to keep London as a global financial centre, Sunak said that the taskforce will be one of the measures to counter the effects of Brexit on unemployment and businesses.
🔥 Antitrust Challenges Getting Spicier
Last Wednesday, the U.S. Senate called on a number of mobile app companies, including the music streaming service Spotify, to the antitrust hearings on Apple and Google. Speaking at the hearing, Spotify’s chief legal officer accused Apple of abusing its position to disadvantage Spotify’s service, including the launch of a competing product. Further, both Google and Apple were criticized for the commissions which are charged on payment processing, another measure which is seen as competition control. In response, Apple and Google emphasized the need to invest in the management of their app stores, including security measures.
The antitrust battle has also extended outside the United States — last month, Epic games filed a complaint to the UK Competition and Markets Authority against Apple. The recent hearings may trigger actions from the U.S. authorities, but the deep rooted monopolies in the U.S. economy may not be easily addressed. Here’s a fascinating read on how the U.S. antitrust framework has eroded over time into an environment which benefits the concentration of corporate power.
𐃏 Racing to Take the Wheel
Biden and Japanese Prime minister Yoshihide Suga have recently agreed on a joint investment of $4.5bn to develop 6G technology, in a race against China. The geopolitical battles over telecommunications infrastructure is not new, but it seems that countries are now headed towards the next-generation infrastructure — 6G — in hopes to obtain the most market share possible. As seen in the case of 5G and Huawei, the U.S. has relied on an aggressive campaign to press its allies to remove Huawei from their networks. Some have responded to the call by imposing their own restrictions, such as the UK’s plan to purge all Huawei equipment by 2027, and Belgium’s decision to choose Nokia over Huawei to build its 5G networks. However, Huawei’s influence remains in some NATO members, such as Hungary and Turkey, as well as U.S. partners in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The limited success on banning Huawei is partly due to the lack of alternatives. The U.S. will benefit from a stronger alliance with countries such as Japan and South Korea to strengthen alternative 5G projects, especially in developing countries. Looking ahead, a new 6G battleground has already opened up, and countries are racing to take the wheel. In March, a new five-year plan was adopted at China’s National People’s Congress, which includes the development of 6G infrastructure. The joint investment between U.S. and Japan is a major effort to compete against China and take the lead on setting new global standards.
🤖Taking on AI and Data Bias
In a recent blog by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the FTC highlighted the role of racial and gender biases in AI tools. For decades, the FTC has enforced three laws related to unfair practices — Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act — all of which are applicable to developers and users of AI. The principle of “do more good than harm“ is used in various AI ethics frameworks, but also reflected in the FTC Act, which deems a practice as unfair if it causes more harm than good. A stronger stance on AI tools is surfacing in Europe, where the EU is now considering to ban the use of AI in fields such as mass surveillance and social credit scores. As the birthplace of the GDPR, the EU continues to expand its regulatory front on technology and innovation, which diverges hugely from attitudes in the U.S. and China. Here’s some commentary on EU’s potential ban:
💕Extra Bits with Love
🇨🇳 How China’s protected market threatens Europe’s economic power
🌐 US imposes new sanctions on Russia in response to SolarWinds
😎 No big deal: Facebook’s internal email response to recent data breach
📺 No, I’m not still watching: Netflix falls short of its Q1 goals
👋 Author’s Notes
Thank you for reading our first RoG newsletter! Our weekly roundups summarize the most interesting news from the previous week and provide simple insights without too much jargon. We will also be publishing in-depth discussions on topics at the intersection of tech, politics, and society. This week, we will be talking everything ~privacy~
Leave us a comment to let us know what you liked and what you want to see! And of course, stay tuned for more 😉