FTI Consulting News Bytes – 1st July

This week’s news

Meta sparks anger by charging for VR apps

Meta has come under fire for charges imposed on apps created for its virtual reality headsets. Developers expressed concerns to the Financial Times about the charging model for its VR app store which companies feel they are “struck with” and state are “similar to the fees charged by Apple and Android.” Meta has defended its policies highlighting that users can install apps outside of its official store through SideQuest and make use of App Lab, its less restricted and more experimental app store. Meta hopes to create a multibillion-dollar consumer market – pledging to invest $10bn a year over the next decade in the “metaverse,” an immersive virtual world filled with avatars.

UK Government to boost AI data mining research in copyright law change

The UK Government is reportedly tweaking an existing copyright law to allow greater analysis of licensed material to support machine learning and wider research into artificial intelligence. Following this change, anyone with lawful access to the copyrighted material will be able to submit it to text and data mining for any purpose and will not be legally required to inform the copyright owner. This move aims to boost artificial intelligence across the country; assisting researchers looking into artificial intelligence and wider data mining techniques who frequently use copy-righted material as a source of information. According to IT Pro, the Intellectual Property Office has stressed that wider copyright protection will remain in place and copyright owners will retain their ability to choose who can access their work and where.

UK should immediately ban use of live facial recognition, warns report

An independent legal report, commissioned by the Ada Lovelace Institute, has called for the UK to immediately ban the use of live facial recognition in public spaces until laws are introduced to regulate biometric technologies, the Financial Times reports. Biometric data is any personal data generated from measurable human biological and behavioural characteristics, which can be used to identify individuals, and to categorise and infer information about the behaviour of groups. There are currently big concerns about the accuracy of live facial recognition, and that the technology, which is already being deployed by such organisations as London’s Metropolitan Police, can be discriminatory and biased, as some experiments have suggested. Barrister and former deputy mayor of London Matthew Ryder, who conducted the review, said: “You don’t want to become a society where you are using biometrics to surveil members of the public who can’t opt out of it”.

Tech firms respond to Roe vs Wade

The media reported that the tech industry is under increased pressure to take a stand about the use of online data to incriminate individuals seeking or providing abortion services, after the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade last Friday. The ruling highlighted the general lack of privacy protections in US law, which mean that private information collected and retained by companies could be accessed and weaponized to prosecute abortion seekers and providers. Major companies including Facebook, Uber, Apple and Google have not responded to queries about how they would handle their users’ sensitive data and respond to future law enforcement requests.  However, many have announced policies to protect their own employees: Google, which covers travel expenses for abortions, told its employees they could also apply to relocate “without justification”, whilst Meta has declared its intention to offer travel expense reimbursements “to the extent permitted by law, for employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care and reproductive services”. Further, ride share companies Uber and Lyft have confirmed that they are strengthening their legal defence commitment to protect their drivers who may be sued for providing transportation to a clinic.

Snapchat announces Snapchat+; a new premium subscription plan

According to CNBC, Snapchat has just launched a paid subscription plan for $3.99 a month which will include pre-release, experimental and exclusive features such as pinning your close friend as a BFF, customizing the app’s icon and being able to see which people viewed your story more than once. Snapchat+ will launch this week in several countries including US, UK, France, Germany, Australia and Canada before being rolled out elsewhere. Snapchat’s Senior Vice President of Products, Jacob Andreou told The Verge that Snapchat + could help the company diversify its revenue sources following Snapchat’s disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter but made it clear he doesn’t expect the plan to become a “material new revenue source.”

Top Tweets of the Week

• Washington Post tweets that privacy advocates are requesting that tech companies do not share data with the police following the overturn of the Roe v Wade case.
• The Wall Street Journal reports that inflation and saturation are making it harder for Netflix to attract subscribers, but Dan Gallagher explains how partnerships will help it enter the ad business faster.
• CNBC tweets that Tesla is cutting 200 Autopilot jobs and closing its office in San Matteo, California.

Number of the Week

35,000 – The number of engineers that need to be hired in the next 10 years to revive Japan’s semiconductor sector, according to The Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association

What’s happening next week?

• 3rd July: Formula 1 British Grand Prix takes place at Silverstone
• 4th July: British Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Survey, U.S Independence Day
• 5th July: Bank of England publishes its Financial Stability Report
• 7th July: G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting

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