Tech Week in Review: Federal Legislation Targeting Big Tech, EU Crypto Regulations & More

Time Running Out for Federal Antitrust, Privacy Bills Aimed at Big Tech

After almost five years of promising to rein in Big Tech, congressional lawmakers may finally pass antitrust and privacy legislation that could change how companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta operate.

Two antitrust bills - The American Innovation and Choice Online Act (SB 2992), which would prohibit companies from giving their own products preferential treatment over competitors’ products on their platforms, and The Open App Markets Act (SB 2710), which would bar Apple and Google from requiring app developers to pay them commissions on in-app purchases - have been passed by the House and await votes in the Senate. Meanwhile, a breakthrough in consumer data privacy came last month, with the release of draft legislation (HR 8152) that would establish national standards for consumer data collection and use.

But although there is bipartisan support for the bills in both chambers, the measures still face hurdles, and time is running short for getting them across the finish line. And with Democrats at risk of losing control of both chambers in November’s midterm elections - and legislative priorities likely to shift when Congress convenes next year - Bill Kovacic, a professor at George Washington University School of Law, said the next few weeks before Congress’ summer recess will be “vital.” (CNET)

EU Hammers Out Landmark Crypto Regulations

EU officials reached an agreement last week on what will probably be the first major cryptocurrency industry regulations. Among other things, the Markets in Crypto-Assets, or MiCA, would require issuers of so-called stablecoins, pegged to existing assets like the U.S. dollar, to maintain adequate reserves to meet mass withdrawal requests, as occurred with the recent collapse of terraUSD; require miners to disclose their energy consumption; require exchanges to warn consumers about the risk of losses associated with crypto trading. The regulations could be in place as early as 2024. (CNBC)

FCC Commissioner Requests Removal of TikTok from Apple, Google App Stores

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai last month requesting that they remove the popular short video app TikTok from their app stores over data security concerns. Carr said in the letter that TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, “is not just an app for sharing funny videos or meme,” but also “functions as a sophisticated surveillance tool that harvests extensive amounts of personal and sensitive data.” (CNBC)

Google Launching New Subsidiary Focused on Public Sector

Google announced a new subsidiary, Google Public Sector, which will focus on state, local, federal, and education agencies interested in building better digital tools and replacing legacy systems. The new unit “will specialize in bringing Google Cloud technologies, including Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace, to U.S. public-sector customers,” according to a blog post by Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. (GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY)

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK