This Week in Monopoly - Friday, July 12th
Here are some stories we had our eye on this week:
Fed’s Powell Says Facebook’s Libra Raises ‘Serious Concerns’
Wall Street Journal, Paul Kiernan
His tweets criticize Facebook and Google, but the Antitrust Division of the Justice Department is making life easier for potential monopolists in Silicon Valley.
France Hits Back at US Over Tax on Digital Giants
The Guardian, Angelique Chrisafis
Dubbed the Gafa tax – an acronym for Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – the legislation will impose a 3% levy on the total annual revenues of the largest technology firms providing services to French consumers.
IBM Proposes Curbing Legal Protections for Internet Companies
Los Angeles Times, Naomi Nix and Ben Brody
Ryan Hagemann, an IBM government and regulatory affairs technology policy executive, said in a blog post that internet companies shouldn’t automatically have legal protection for what third parties post on their platforms. Instead, their liability exemption — part of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act — should be based on the condition they take action to curb harmful uses of their services, he said.
“A measure designed nearly a quarter-century ago to foster an infant internet needs to keep pace with the enormous social, economic, and even political power that the online world today commands,” Hagemann wrote.
The Biggest Abuser of Forced Arbitration Is Amazon
The American Prospect, David Dayen
ALL OF AMAZON'S third-party sellers, responsible for more than half of total sales on the website, must sign a contract that commits them to mandatory arbitration in the event of a dispute. “We each agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated or representative action,” the arbitration clause reads, meaning that no seller can team up with others similarly situated to bring a complaint. Court trials are also waived.
FTC and Facebook Reportedly Agree to $5 Billion Settlement After Privacy Investigation
Consumer Reports, Allen St. John
“The FTC just gave Facebook a Christmas present five months early," House Antitrust Subcommittee Chairman David N. Cicilline wrote in a statement after the news broke. "It’s very disappointing that such an enormously powerful company that engaged in such serious misconduct is getting a slap on the wrist. This fine is a fraction of Facebook’s annual revenue. It won’t make them think twice about their responsibility to protect user data. If the FTC won’t protect consumers, Congress surely must."
CNBC, Kate Fazzini
British Airways and Marriott received the largest-ever fines under the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation this past week.
Pentagon’s Cloud Project Under Fire as Award Nears
Wall Street Journal, John D. McKinnon
Oracle has challenged the procurement process in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, charging that a former Amazon employee working at the Pentagon helped shape the deal to favor Amazon, and then returned to work for Amazon. Oracle’s suit is scheduled for a court hearing this week.
Amazon Workers Plan Prime Day Strike at Minnesota Warehouse
Bloomberg, Josh Eidelson and Spender Soper
Amazon.com Inc. warehouse workers in Minnesota plan to strike during the online retailer’s summer sales extravaganza, a sign that labor unrest persists even after the company committed to paying all employees at least $15 an hour last year. Workers at a Shakopee, Minnesota, fulfillment center plan a six-hour work stoppage July 15, the first day of Prime Day.
Why Vietnam Loves Donald Trump
Wall Street Journal, Editorial Board
Mr. Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, and he’s threatened a duty on another $300 billion. This has narrowed the U.S.-China bilateral goods trade gap in recent months, but the total U.S. trade deficit reached a record high in 2018. While shrinking in the first quarter this year, the overall goods trade deficit widened 5.8% in May from a month earlier and is on pace to exceed last year’s total. Producers are leaving China, but not for America.
Call it Make Southeast Asia Great Again, as exporters from Vietnam in particular are reaping the rewards of U.S. tariffs. While Chinese goods exports to the U.S. fell 12.3% year-over-year from January through May, Vietnam saw a 36.4% increase, according to U.S. Census data.