Two-minute Recap of Platform Law Developments - October 2023
Bulut Girgin, Simru Tayfun, Orçun Horozoğlu, Ceren Ceyhan, Hatice Nur Arslan, Efe Utku Çal, Sıla Ustaoğlu, Dilara Utku, Doğa Günaydın, Alperen Gündüz, Pırıl Aytemiz
European Commission investigates Meta and TikTok for posts on Israel-Hamas conflict
Meta and TikTok are being closely monitored in terms of possible violations of the Digital Services Act ("DSA") over posts concerning the Israel-Hamas conflict. The DSA is an EU law that regulates online content moderation in the European Union ("EU"). In response to illegal content and disinformation, the European Commission ("EC") sent Meta and TikTok letters formally requesting information, which is a preliminary step before opening an official investigation.
Immediate suspension of AI chip exports to China
Nvidia, the American technology company, has announced that it has received an order from the United States ("US") government to halt the export of AI chips to China with immediate effect. The US aims to restrict China from buying high-level AI chips. The ongoing technology rivalry between Washington and Beijing has taken a new turn with the acceleration of US restrictions.
Meta faces a COPPA violation
A group of lawyers in the US has filed a lawsuit against Meta accusing the company of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") by collecting data from users under the age of 13 without parental consent. The lawsuit alleges that Meta has repeatedly misled the public about the dangers of social media platforms and knowingly encourages teens and children to use social media addictively.
Latest recommendations from the EDPS on the EU AI Act
The European Data Protection Supervisor ("EDPS") has published its opinion on the Artificial Intelligence Act ("AI Act"), a regulatory framework for AI in the EU. The EDPS advocates the prohibition of AI systems that pose significant risks to individuals' fundamental rights, particularly those involving biometric features and behavioural signal recognition.
The CJEU rejects request to suspend EU-US Data Privacy Framework
The Court of Justice of the European Union ("CJEU") has rejected an application filed by Philippe Latombe, a French member of the European Parliament, to suspend the implementation of the EU-US Data Privacy Framework ("DPF"), stating that he failed to provide evidence of potential harm to individuals or groups as a result of the transfer agreement and the EC's subsequent adequacy decision.
DPF enters into force in the UK
The United Kingdom ("UK") Extension of the DPF, which allows the seamless transfer of personal data from the UK to the US, entered into force on 12 October 2023, following the EC's adequacy decision in favour of the DPF published in July.
Online Safety Act becomes law
The UK's Online Safety Act, which aims to improve online safety, has received Royal Assent and will now become law. It addresses various online harms, including underage access to explicit content, trolling, scam ads, deep-fake sharing, the dissemination of child sexual abuse and terrorism-related materials. The Online Safety Act will be enforced by the UK's telecoms regulator, and non-compliant companies could face fines of up to GBP 18 million or 10% of their global annual turnover, along with possible imprisonment for executives.
New regulation published under the DSA
The Delegated Regulation under the DSA on independent audits has been published. The framework provided by this delegated act will assist auditing organisations and providers of "Very Large Online Platforms" and "Very Large Online Search Engines" in developing and disseminating audit reports and audit implementation reports.
Uber fined for breaching Australian spam law
Uber Australia ("Uber") was fined USD 412,500 for violating Australian spam laws by sending more than two million marketing emails. According to an investigation conducted by the Australian Authority, Uber sent the emails without an unsubscribe option, and over 500,000 were sent to customers who had previously opted out.
European Commission designates six gatekeepers
In our previous issue, we reported that the European Commission had published an announcement designating six gatekeepers-Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft-under the Digital Markets Act ("DMA"). Following this, the European Commission published its "designation decisions" enumerating the core platform services and date of designation. The six gatekeepers must now guarantee absolute conformity with the DMA obligations relating to their designated core platform services within six months of the date of designation.