In the wake of Brexit, Google is planning to place UK user accounts under US jurisdiction, meaning they will lose strict protections under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. The tech giant intends to transition UK users out of Irish jurisdiction as Google’s European headquarters are based in Ireland, which is still a member of the EU. With the recently introduced CLOUD Act giving foreign authorities broader access to electronic information held by US-based global providers, British law enforcement can more easily tap into user data for use in criminal investigations. Along with this, the US is notorious for having weak data protection regulations. UK users will be required to accept the new terms of service and tech companies with comparable situations in the EU, such as Facebook, will need to take similar action in the near future.
According to the BBC, the European Commission stated it intends on implementing new rules to safeguard its citizens from artificial intelligence misuse which will be similar to the GDPR. The proposal suggests banning the use of facial recognition in public areas, and also states “freedom of expression, association and assembly must not be undermined by the use of the technology.” The document reportedly will be adopted by post-Brexit UK unless it chooses to introduce its own rules.
Employees of crowdfunding platform Kickstarter reached a decision on Tuesday to unionize in a narrowly won vote of 46 to 37. Unionization efforts by technology companies on this scale have historically been unsuccessful, with only small groups from Google and Instacart forming bargaining committees. The industry has been slow to form unions as workers in the space largely earn higher wages, but according to sources, the decision made this week is stated to be a major step towards empowering tech workers to build collective structures to influence business decisions, hiring practices, working conditions and wages. According to the New York Times, Kickstarter’s chief executive, Aziz Hasan, he is now “engaged in and thinking about is the ability for us to move forward.”
In apps news, Google has dropped nearly 600 android apps and developers that the company has deemed ‘disruptive,’ in an effort to cut back on mobile ad fraud. Google states the ban applies to android app ads that are “displayed to users in unexpected ways, including impairing or interfering with the usability of device functions.” This is reportedly the largest ban of fraud offenders as of date.
Also this week, Larry Tesler, the computer scientist, who famously invented the copy and paste command, has died at age 74. Throughout his career, Mr. Tesler worked at Xerox, Apple, Amazon and Yahoo as well as started his own education startup. Silicon Valley’s Computer History Museum said he “combined computer science training with a counterculture vision that computers should be for everyone” and thanks to him our workdays have been made a little easier.
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In events news, FE International Founder Thomas Smale and CEO Ismael Wrixen will be attending the Traffic and Conversion Summit from March 31st to April 2nd in San Diego to meet with leaders and founders in the digital marketing space. If you would like to connect with Thomas or Ismael, please get in touch to set up a meeting.
North America’s leading SaaS Conference will be held in San Francisco this year from May 18th through the 20th. On the LTV Conf website you’ll find our ticket information, speaker application, agenda and much more. We hope to see you there and be sure to follow LTV Conf on Twitter for the latest updates!
Call for Entry: SaaS Mag has opened its application for the 2020 SaaS 1000 list! If you think you’re company deserves to be ranked among the top growing SaaS companies, then be sure to apply by February 29, 2020!
Continue reading below for on Google, Kickstarter, AI regulation more!
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In the News…
UK Google Accounts Expected to Lose EU Data Protection
Google is planning to move its British users’ accounts out of the control of European Union privacy regulators, placing them under U.S. jurisdiction instead, sources said. The shift, prompted by Britain’s exit from the EU, will leave the sensitive personal information of tens of millions with less protection and within easier reach of British law enforcement. The change was described to Reuters by three people familiar with its plans. Google intends to require its British users to acknowledge new terms of service including the new jurisdiction.
European Commission Introduces New AI Regulations
The European Commission announced it plans on introducing new rules regarding AI regulation in an effort to protect it’s citizens. Of the protections outlined in the document. According to Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton, the proposed legislation would be similar to the GDPR, and stated, “They will make sure that the individual and fundamental rights that we cherish in Europe are respected.”
Kickstarter Employees Form Union – A First for the Tech Industry
Employees at the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter voted on Tuesday to unionize, the first well-known technology company to take the step toward being represented by organized labor. The decision, which was formalized by a vote count at the National Labor Relations Board, came down to a narrow margin, with 46 employees voting in favor of the move and 37 opposing it. The debate over a union — and whether such representation was appropriate for highly paid tech workers — had been a source of tension at the company for many months. “I’m overjoyed by this result,” said Dannel Jurado, a Kickstarter senior software engineer who voted for a union. “There’s a long road ahead of us, but it’s a first step to the sustainable future in tech that I and so many others want to see.”
Google Drops 600 Android Apps
Google has cut about 600 apps form the Google Play store. According to Google policy, the company does not allow apps to display ads intending to deceive users or ads placed in locations where users would accidentally click on them. google’s senior project manager for ad traffic quality, Per Bjorke, notes in a blog post the company has created a “machine-learning based approach” to combat “malicious developers” creating disruptive advertisements.
Larry Tesler Dies at Age 74
Larry Tesler, the computer scientist responsible to creating cut, copy, paste, has sadly passed away at the age of 74. Teslers innovations made the personal computer easy to learn and brought computer accessibility to the widespread public. Tesler spend his career working for major enterprises including Xerox, Amazon, Yahoo, and Apple, where he worked under Steve Jobs.