1. Monthly archive
  2. September 2018

September 2018

EU crackdown misses Big Tech targets

European laws and proposals meant to rein in tech giants are inadvertently empowering them. The laws — governing everything from privacy to copyright to content filtering — stem from concerns about the behavior of big platforms, like YouTube and Facebook. But big companies have more resources to comply with complicated regulations than small firms. The European Parliament recently passed a directive that would overhaul its copyright law and would force platforms to impose strict filters for copyright violations or face fines.

ACLU Accuses Facebook of Allowing Bias Against Women in Job Ads

Facebook has been criticized in recent years over revelations that its technology allowed landlords to discriminate on the basis of race, and employers to discriminate on the basis of age. Now a group of job seekers is alleging that Facebook helps employers exclude female candidates from recruiting campaigns.  The job seekers, in collaboration with the Communications Workers of America and the American Civil Liberties Union, are filing charges with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Facebook and 9 employers.

Universal Service Contribution Factor Surpasses 20% for the First Time, Highest Rate Ever

The proposed Universal Service contribution factor will exceed 20%. It will be 20.1% for the fourth quarter of 2018, according to a new Federal Communications Commission public notice. An FCC spokesperson confirmed that it is the highest ever. And it means that just over one-fifth of every dollar that users spend on interstate and international telecom services (essentially long-distance voice services) will go toward the Universal Service Fund (USF) program. The USF contribution factor has been creeping up for years. Back in 2012, the contribution factor had reached a then-whopping 17.4%.

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