The Sunday Telegraph Sunday 7 July 2019 *** 5 Technology Intelligence Why Big Tech now dances to the EU’s tune

The US is following the lead of regulatory laws from Europe, report Laurence Dodds and Olivia Rudgard in San Francisco

t was not a statement one would algorithms and to give French courts expect to hear from the head of a information about hate speech huge Silicon Valley company. US suspects. In Britain, after a campaign technology firms have by The Daily Telegraph, the traditionally opposed regulation, Government has announced plans and scorned the efforts of to give tech firms a duty of care European countries to bring them to towards under-18s, possibly to be Iheel. Yet here was Tim Cook, chief enforced by a regulator. executive of Apple, telling a data “The EU has certainly led the way in protection conference in Brussels last developing a strong, comprehensive year: “It is time for the rest of the approach to privacy protection,” says world, including my home country, to Eleni Kyriakides, international counsel follow your lead.” for the Washington DC-based Granted, Apple is famously Electronic Privacy Information Centre. pro-privacy, at least outside China “The US is one of the few advanced (where it follows local laws mandating democracies without comprehensive government access to user data). Yet privacy legislation. GDPR-style Cook is not alone in singing the praises legislation is, simply put, long of the European Union. Brad Smith of overdue.” James P Steyer, founder of Microsoft, Marc Benioff of Salesforce the US lobby group Common Sense, and Aaron Levie of the cloud storage likewise says that “momentum” is now firm Box are all on record stating the on the side of “citizens who are calling US should follow in the EU’s footsteps. for privacy protections and digital Even Mark Zuckerberg, who had well-being as an industry standard”. said last year that he was not sure American politicians have taken whether Facebook should be notice. In a series of US senate regulated, has very publicly changed hearings on how to regulate Big Tech, his tune, writing, in an op-ed in The GDPR has been a constant touchstone Washington Post: “People around the for senators’ interrogation of world have called for comprehensive executives. The state of California has privacy regulation in line with the passed its own privacy bill, the EU’s … and I agree.” California Consumer Privacy Act Why are tech companies suddenly (CCPA), explicitly inspired by GDPR. so keen to be told what to do? And why Beyond North America, Brazil, are they looking to Europe Thailand and Japan have also passed specifically? The answer, in part, lies in the influence that European efforts are having on the rest of the world – particularly in the US, which has the power to shape internet usage around $9.4bn the world because so many tech firms The amount levied in fines against Google are headquartered there. alone by Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s “[The EU] won in the market of competition commissioner ideas,” says Prof Paul Schwartz, director of the Berkeley Centre for Law and Technology in California. data privacy laws closely modelled on “Brad Smith [of Microsoft] and Tim GDPR, while France, Australia and Cook, they’re speaking the language of New Zealand are following similar data protection law. What they’re paths on hate speech and terrorism. saying is – it’s a human right. It’s really According to Steve Weber, a quite noticeable … think about French professor at the Berkeley School of ideas of liberty and freedom jumping Information, GDPR has served “as a is ultimately why tech giants have CCPA has become bogged down in a they’re going to set back development over the Atlantic and influencing the big signal that governments can do ‘It’s really changed their tune. “These folks are sludge of amendments, backed by tech ‘Two years of AI by years; they don’t understand American Revolution.” this, and as a lodestar” for how it can quite past the point of believing they can industry lobbyists. There are other ago we were the digital economy. Now that we have The EU’s most influential move has be done. He says the CCPA was continue to exist in this splendid, reasons to doubt Silicon Valley’s come around to the idea that we been the General Data Protection “clearly inspired” by European laws. noticeable. permission-less isolation,” says Weber. embrace of regulation. In Germany, saying the should do something, we idealise the Regulation (GDPR), a wide-reaching Schwartz adds that the EU has Think about “Maybe two years ago people would Facebook has been fined €2m (£1.8m) Europeans Europeans: ‘Wow, they’ve figured it privacy law that finally came into benefited from being “flexible”, French ideas say: ‘Look, we’re in a short-term storm for not making its transparency report were going out!’” In his view, the US has arrived at effect last year after almost a decade of allowing different countries to and if we can just ride that out, we can transparent enough. this regulatory moment for its own methodical work by Martin Selmayr, implement its ideas in their own way of liberty and do whatever we want to do.’ That train Zuckerberg’s op-ed also avoided to hamstring reasons (such as liberal backlash the head of the EU’s civil service. and extending its reach via negotiation freedom has left the station, and now the sense mention of any deadlines for taking themselves against the role of Facebook in the But tech giants have also faced and influence rather than by the sheer is that if there’s going to be meaningful down content – arguably the NetzDG’s election of Trump), and the European action from Margrethe Vestager, the force of its market power. jumping regulation then let’s shape that most important component, but one with GDPR example is an easily available crutch. EU’s competition commissioner, who Meanwhile, the US Federal Trade over the regulation in a way that helps us.” that Facebook has persistently lobbied … now we In fact, Weber argues that even has earned the wrath of Donald Trump Commission is reportedly mulling a But Europe’s battle is not finished against. Similarly, on GDPR, tech though US politicians have more by levying $9.4bn (£7.5bn) in fines fine against Facebook that would be Atlantic and yet. To start with, GDPR itself has not companies have been supportive of realise we power to regulate tech giants than the against Google alone. Other bigger than any it has ever levied – but influencing yet led to that much change, with watered-down versions, laws which should do EU, they might be less willing to do so commissioners have corralled comparable to those already levied by many companies simply adding more look a lot like the EU’s but which are because they depend on Silicon Valley Facebook, YouTube and Twitter into the EU. American politicians are the permission checklists to their services. missing fundamental clauses, like the something, – for job creation, economic growth, a voluntary codes of conduct on fake talking more openly than ever before American Whether anyone is even behaving need for a lawful basis for processing we idealise buoyant stock market and, naturally, news, political advertising and hate about breaking up tech giants, or at differently is still an open question, someone’s information. campaign contributions. speech, increasing the share of illegal least restraining their market power. Revolution’ says Schwartz. Indeed, most observers One such bill failed to pass in them’ The EU, however, seems happy to content deleted within 24 hours from Elements of the NetzDG have also of Capitol Hill now believe that Washington state earlier this year. press forward alone. Its member states 28pc in 2016 to 72pc this February. become visible in global discussions attempts to create such a law have Ultimately, Weber believes European have just nominated Ursula von der In Germany, Angela Merkel’s about online hate speech. Both stalled, with no legislation expected tech laws will continue to influence Leyen, a German defence minister, as government passed a “Network Facebook and YouTube now publish until after 2020. Some experts have American politics – but not necessarily the new head of the European Enforcement Act”, popularly called the regular statistics on how much content argued before Congress that GDPR in the way Martin Selmayr might hope. Commission. She has long called for NetzDG, setting deadlines for the they have taken down. would be the wrong model because “Europe plays this weird shadow greater regulation of Big Tech, and is deletion of illegal content. In France, Zuckerberg has said that other users are not capable of meaningfully reality role in American thinking,” he expected to keep Vestager in her post. Emmanuel Macron and his new digital companies should follow suit, and that consenting to the dizzying array of says. “Two years ago we were saying If that happens, it probably won’t minister Cédric O have convinced nation states should “set baselines” for data collection practices that tech that the Europeans were going to matter whether Silicon Valley’s smiles Facebook to agree to an audit of its content moderation. This global wave companies employ. Meanwhile, the hamstring themselves with GDPR, are sincere. Musk has high ambitions for low-orbit internet

stationary in the sky. It’s easy to point Telesat schemes also lead the pack, moving. Musk says that a “pizza box” with them all.” The SpaceX entrepreneur a dish at it for a high-bandwidth and dozens more are close behind. sized antenna with a view of the sky Musk claimed that might connection. But because the satellites Musk’s Starlink system aims for will be all that’s needed to use Starlink. quickly begin to generate revenues of believes he can succeed are so high, geostationary broadband almost 12,000 satellites. His company, The big story, however, is the $30bn for SpaceX. Ray is sceptical. where many have failed, is subject to irritating signal delays, SpaceX, has the unique advantage that connection from the to the “None of the satellite schemes is going known as latency, bad enough to it provides the cheapest launch wider internet. Starlink and its rivals to make much money unless they can but Lewis Page has doubts prevent online gaming. It’s also too rockets in the world because they plan to pass data around the world compete for customers who already o one has ever succeeded in expensive for streaming high- are used more than once. But from satellite to satellite using optical have a connection,” he says. “For low-orbit internet satellites, definition video, and there are low-flying satellites zoom across lasers, which will have similar capacity starters, the expense of the ‘pizza box’ N admitted Elon Musk last hard limits on user numbers. the sky, so it’s no good trying to to Earth-based fibres – basically the will be a problem.” month – as his first low-orbit internet That’s why almost everyone point dishes at them. And same equipment, without the fibre. Musk has told potential investors satellites were launched. connects to the internet via satellites in such numbers must This could mean satellites replacing that he believes Starlink pizza boxes He was right, and not because terrestrial means, and almost be very affordable. the global fibre backbone. Musk has will cost $500 at first, dropping to $150 others haven’t tried hard enough. Low all backbone data moves via The affordable part may be said: “The goal will be to have the over time. But the main reason to be orbit has long been a graveyard of tech terrestrial fibres, often under- happening. Musk’s low-orbit majority of long-distance traffic go sceptical of the $30bn figure is that it dreams. Iridium, and sea. Billions of people who are rival, Wyler of OneWeb, over this network.” seems to be more Musk’s estimate of remain operational follow- poorly served by the fibre recently said: “Whether our Bill Ray, senior analyst at Gartner, what SpaceX needs to build his Mars ing bankruptcy. , Skybridge, backbone remain offline. satellites are $500,000 points out that space-to-space lasers ships than a realistic attempt at Celestri and Astrolink are gone. Recently, however, there’s been [£397,000] or $1m is are largely unproven and that back- projecting satellite broadband It’s a discouraging obituary list, and a stampede towards low orbit. It’s irrelevant, because they bone-capacity links would be needed revenue. Musk has stated not only his there’s cold comfort for his investors not just Musk: satcomms veteran are not $50m, that’s to connect the satellites to the fibre intention to fly hundreds of people to in Musk’s known philosophy. “If Greg Wyler, backed by Sir where it started.” backbone to begin with, or in the Mars, and in some cases back again, something’s important enough, you Richard Branson among others, The problem of satellite-backbone future, for such but that he intends to be among them. should try,” he recently told an has six new OneWeb fast-moving satellites is purposes as major data centres. He has just turned 48, so he needs to interviewer, “even if the probable in orbit and plans more. also in hand. Flat “Using visible light for satellite-to- rapidly accelerate progress toward the outcome is failure”. Amazon’s Project Kuiper phased-array anten- Earth is challenging,” says Ray. red planet to even have a chance. Satellite broadband can be had but expects to put up more than nae, like those in “You could do this with radio An attempt to use Starlink as a not from low orbit. Normally, it comes 3,000. The Leosat and advanced military instead, but it would be complicated. springboard to Mars may just be one of from a spacecraft much higher up, in a radars, can form Different nations and regions have those probable failures that, for Musk, 24-hour orbit above the Equator. From Elon Musk thinks his Starlink directional beams and aim different rules on spectrum, and are so important that they have to be the ground, such a satellite sits boxes could cost as little as $150 them to track a target without lower-flying satellites need to work tried anyway.