lawless.tech

Our 100th Feature: lawless.tech Is Open to Collaboration

It’s been a while since our last post. For almost a year, we have been doing our best to look closely at the way law impacts the most cutting-edge technologies, how those technologies affect and find their place in law, and how it all affects us.

We have published 99 articles viewed 209 000 times by 28 000 users. Five percent of readers subscribed to our newsletter and followed us on social media. We do feel that our work is needed and appreciated.

Now, lawless.tech, an online magazine about law and technology, is looking for authors and sponsors to move forward. Together we can bridge the conceptual gap between innovators and lawmakers.

More details at https://lawless.tech/our-100th-feature-lawless-tech-is-open-to-collaboration/

Should you have any questions or suggestions please email vlad@lawless.tech

The Petition of Reversing the Net Neutrality Repeal Misses Democratic Votes

Net neutrality advocates are waiting for the support from the House of Representatives by the deadline of December 10 to reverse the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of net neutrality rules.

1. To start with, the Congress has the opportunity to reverse FCC Chairman’s net neutrality repeal by the end of the session. Afterwards, it gets way harder to restore protections against blocking, controlling, and implementing new fees.

2. Without net neutrality rules, monopolistic Internet providers like Verizon and AT&T will have the full power over the online communications of their subscribers. In order to increase awareness of the upcoming deadline, there will be a social media push to direct people to the "deadline for net neutrality” page, where they can sign an open letter to the Congress.

3. In the House, 218 members (a majority) would have to sign a discharge petition to force the US Senate vote, but only 177 have signed it so far with 176 of them being Democrats.

4. Even though the Democrats mean to protect net neutrality when they have the majority in Congress next year, there are still eighteen Democrats left who haven’t signed petition yet. Plus, the greater number of of Republicans in the Senate makes it less likely that the Democrats will get their net neutrality bill through both chambers of Congress.

GDPR vs. Blockchain: The Saga Continues

The popular French privacy watchdog, the CNIL, is on fire these days. After being the first EU authority to issue warnings for the GDPR violations to Teemo and Fidzup, it discovers new playgrounds – this time it’s all about matching blockchain technology and the GDPR. With the recently issued official English translation of the recommendation, let’s dive right in.

https://lawless.tech/gdpr-vs-blockchain-the-saga-continues/

Russian Firm Sues Facebook for Discrimination

A Russian company whose accountant has been charged by prosecutors for attempting to interfere the US elections has retaliated and sued Facebook, affirming that The Federal Agency of News LLC (FAN) is a legitimate news media and its Facebook account should be restored.

1. Everything started back in April, when Facebook deleted FAN’s account due to news media references about St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency. It was accused by counsel Robert Mueller of spreading false information in the awe of 2016 election.

2. FAN claimed that they were intentionally targeted in Facebook’ purge together with 270 other Russian-language pages and accounts. FAN’s lawsuit argued that Facebook violated their right to free speech and mentioned the Civil Rights Act of 1964 referring to the fact that Facebook discriminated the news outlet due to its Russian origins.

3. FAN’s accountant who has become the center of federal prosecutors’ attention had day-to-day bookkeeping routine, and had no involvement in editorial content, according to plaintiffs.

4. For now, there are no official comments from Facebook on FAN’s suit, but we will keep you updated with the new flow of official information from counterparts.

Privacy of Things: Which Security Requirements to Consider for the Smart Devices’ Manufacturing

The safety of your data in the world where everything is getting increasingly interconnected is a tough thing that gets challenged too often these days. In his op-ed for lawless.tech, associate of tech at attorneys association Juscutum Vlad Nekrutenko shares his views as to how to attain a greater security in the world of smart devices by law.

https://lawless.tech/privacy-of-things-which-security-requirements-to-consider-for-the-smart-devices-manufacturing/

Internet Laws: South Korea

Which country located on the Korean peninsula has numerous oppressive, restrictive, and censorship-centered mechanisms, and puts people in jail for what they say online? No, it's not North Korea. Here's more about that: https://lawless.tech/internet-laws-south-korea/

Canadian PIPEDA Updated: Companies Obliged to Report Data Breaches

From November 1st, Canadian companies are obliged to record and notify Canada’s Office of the Privacy Commissioner about data breaches, as the change to the federal Personal Information Protection and Electronics Act (PIPEDA) took effect.

1. One of the main objectives of PIPEDA is to “ensure that the Commissioner is able to provide effective oversight and verify that organizations are complying with the requirements.”

2. The notification obliges companies to keep the records of breaches for over two years. Such record should contain the date of estimated breach, a description and nature of the breach circumstances; and whether the breach was reported to Canada’s privacy commissioner.

3. The Office of the Privacy Commission of Canada doesn’t specify any penalties or fines. Although, “A failure to comply with these rules could result in regulatory and criminal proceedings,” said Alex Cameron, head of the privacy and cybersecurity practice at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin.

4. The change should mitigate substantial financial damages caused by data breaches.

Xenotransplantation: Playing God Because At Least Somebody Should

There are too many people who need transplantation and too few human donors, but scientists are developing ways to use organs from other animals. However, the subject is controversial, especially when it comes to transplanting pig’s heart into human body.

https://lawless.tech/xenotransplantation-playing-god-because-at-least-somebody-should/

Premonition’s Toby Unwin: I Think the Fundamental Problem With Law Is That Financial Incentives Are Misaligned

Every industry is subject to automation and law is not an exception. Or is it? To make things clear, we talked to Toby Unwin, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Premonition, and discussed the future prospects of legal industry, its major problems and possible solutions.

https://lawless.tech/premonitions-toby-unwin-i-think-the-fundamental-problem-with-law-is-that-financial-incentives-are-misaligned/

The US Is Against UK’s New “Digital” Tax

The new digital tax introduced in UK’s 2018 budget wasn’t welcomed by US authorities, who warned that it can hurt prospects for the US—UK trade deal.

1. The UK’s new tax will put a 2% tax on sales by large tech companies, internet marketplaces, and search engines that are mostly from the US. Hence, the US government representatives are concerned about the UK challenging American IT market.

2. The US president said that it’s the kind of tax that everyone abandoned half a century ago because it's thought of as very economically inefficient and functions basically like a tariff. Plus, he added that such taxes worsen international tax system and are basically “a pure cash grab".

3. Once the tax is enacted, it can “complicate the United Kingdom's push for deeper US—UK trade relations," said Rufus Yerxa, president of the National Foreign Trade Council.

4. According to US law, the president is able to raise taxes on UK firms as a retaliatory measure. The list of the tech firms subject to unfavorable taxation in the US can be broadened to the industries important to the UK, such as financial services and pharmaceuticals. The situation might turn lose-lose for both parties

UK Rolls Out New “Digital Tax” Aimed at Tech Giants

The UK Government has included brand-new “tech tax” in the country’s 2018 budget as part of financial legislation, announced on 29th of October. The new tax will directly affect the tech giants like Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and Google.

1. The new “UK Digital Services Tax” attempts to make tech giants pay for their successful efforts to mitigate tax burdens in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.

2. Back in 2012, companies such as Google, Amazon and even Starbucks located their firms in Ireland to take advantage of low corporate tax. It was not illegal, but immoral, according to Margaret Hodge, then Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee.

3. The new 2018 budget claims that the tax would "apply to revenues from those activities that are linked to the participation of UK users." The new tax will only be paid by companies which accumulate at least £500 ($637) million a year in global revenues and is planned to come into effect in April 2020.

4. However, it may not work out. The point is that most of the tech companies don’t receive revenue directly from its users. For instance, when a marketer pays Facebook for showing ads to UK users, the payment transaction doesn’t necessary belong to the UK jurisdiction, hence UK can’t tax it under the new rules of “digital tax.” Even this new tax may not be completely adequate for the modern economy where state borders and jurisdictions are not entirely what they used to be just a few decades ago.

A Busy Week for Data Privacy

The trend of stricting data privacy regulations is getting stronger. There's been quite a week for those keeping an eye on it. Here is a brief recap of the most notable cases.

https://lawless.tech/a-busy-week-for-data-privacy/

Lean Thinking and the Legal Industry: Where We Are Today

In this op-ed, Kenneth A. Grady, Adjunct Professor and Research Fellow at Michigan State University College of Law, shared his perspective on how lean thinking and the actual proceess of legal services delivery evolve and provide new alternatives for lawyers and clients.

https://lawless.tech/lean-thinking-and-the-legal-industry-where-we-are-today/