WR 20: Tick, Tock, TikTok
Weekly Reckoning for the week of 11/3/24
Welcome back to the Ethical Reckoner. It’s a legislation-heavy Weekly Reckoning today (it’s fun, I promise). We cover how Congress might actually be serious about banning TikTok this time, some shenanigans around the EU’s new tech laws, and a bill from Oregon that could have global impact. Then, for more fun, we’ll think about EV startups and fundamental rights in XR. (Separately.)
This edition of the WR is brought to you by… the Tintin roadworks signs of Brussels.
The Reckonnaisance
Tick, tock TikTok: proposed US ban gathers steam
Nutshell: After proposed bans in 2020, 2022, and 2023, a new bill with bipartisan support to force ByteDance to spin off TikTok or ban it from app stores is gathering steam.
More: The bill was introduced and unanimously passed by the bipartisan house Energy and Commerce Committee over the course of two days. It would allow the president to designate any app controlled by a “foreign adversary country” as national security threats—except for TikTok, which is baked into the law as a “foreign adversary controlled application.” Designated apps would have 180 days to separate from their parent country or be banned from app stores. ByteDance and China are both not happy about the “anti-China show,” with TikTok urging users to call their representatives and protest what they’re calling an attack on free speech through a pop-up on the app—which was so effective it caused some legislators to turn off their phones. The bill still has to pass the rest of the House and also the Senate, but Biden has said he’ll sign it if it does.
Why you should care: TikTok is used by more than 150 million Americans—nearly half the population—and people are upset, especially those who make a living on TikTok. To me, it shows the inherent instability of relying on a specific app that you don’t control for your income, although before it seemed like creators only had to worry about algorithm changes and not geopolitics. I’m not a fan of TikTok, more because of my worries over what it does to our brains than the national security concerns, but I appreciate that this would hurt a huge number of creators. Still, at least they would have six months to prepare in case a sale didn’t go through, which is more than they get with sudden algorithm changes. There’s also the question of how this will impact elections, both through increasing voter ire and decreasing campaign reach—since despite trying to ban it, many politicians have joined TikTok. It’s where the voters are ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Right to repair brought to you by… Oregon
Nutshell: Oregon is on the verge of passing a “right to repair” bill that could force worldwide device changes.
More: One of the most comprehensive “right to repair” bills passed the Oregon legislature and awaits signature by the governor. The “right to repair” movement argues that you shouldn’t have to go through the manufacturer to repair your device, meaning that companies have to provide diagnostics, tools, and parts to the public like they do for their own technicians. Companies argue (often baselessly) that it makes devices less secure, while advocates argue that it makes repairs cheaper and decreases e-waste. Right to repair bills have passed worldwide (which is why Apple now has its “Self Service Repair” program) but the Oregon bill specifically takes aim at “parts pairing,” which makes the device’s software only fully work with the original parts of the phone, so if someone other than the manufacturer replaces them, you lose features. Apple supported an earlier California bill but doesn’t support the Oregon bill, while Google supports the Oregon bill—probably because Apple still does parts pairing, while Google has done away with it.
Why you should care: Ever had to pay over $300 to replace your phone screen? If this law passes, it might get a lot cheaper. Apple said that they wouldn’t be able to only restrict parts pairing in Oregon, meaning that this Oregon bill would have a global impact. And even if you don’t want to actually do repairs yourself, it would make it way easier and cheaper to get official repairs done by third-party repair shops. There’s also a fun little Big Tech spat here, with Google presenting itself as the good cop by supporting something they’re already doing against Apple’s bad cop.
New tech regulations take effect in EU, to many shenanigans
Nutshell: The Digital Markets Act took effect in the EU, triggering announcements of creative/sketchy workarounds from companies.
More: The DMA is a law trying to promote competition and regulate the behavior of big “gatekeeper” platforms (Apple, Google, Meta, etc.). One of its requirements is for companies to open up their app stores and payment platforms with the intention of allowing developers to bypass app store fees (an industry-standard, if arbitrary, 30%). Platforms are not fans of this, and are getting creative to protect their bottom line. Apple (which last year lowered its 30% commission to… 27% for outside payments when forced to allow them) lowered commissions but introduced a €0.50 “core technology fee” for each install over a million-install threshold for developers that opt into alternative distribution and payment mechanisms. Google is also launching new fees, with the ability to opt out after two years—if you’re ok losing parental controls, security scanning, and continuous app updates. Sound confusing? It’s meant to.
Why you should care: App developers are apoplectic (the CEO of Epic Games is calling Apple and Google’s actions “malicious compliance”) and honestly, I get why. Apple’s extra fees are expected to apply to only 1% of developers, but it’ll likely discourage small apps from moving to alternative distribution platforms (where they’d have to pay the €0.50 fee on every download) and may keep big apps in the ecosystem as well. These policies are making compliance so difficult that you may not notice much impact at all, despite the DMA being lauded as a revolutionary bill—although regulators might force these companies to make changes. But regardless, you will be able to buy things in Spotify now.
Negative EV review blows up social media and maybe car company
Nutshell: A popular YouTuber ripped the new Fisker Ocean EV in a review, which might not have been that bad if the company hadn’t tried to hunt him down, creating a social media saga in the process.
More: Fisker is a newer EV start-up, and it seems like their software division isn’t up to par, because the car had a lot of really weird software “quirks” (read: bugs)—and also no glovebox? YouTuber Marques Brownlee posted an unfavorable review called “This is the Worst Car I’ve Ever Reviewed” that got millions of views, but then Fisker added fuel to the fire when they tried to track him down through the dealership that owns the car. The dealer posted the call (where a Fisker employee asks if he can “pull your fingernails out as part of an inquisition”) to TikTok, where it also has millions of views. This isn’t helping Fisker, whose stock has tanked after a bleak earnings call and is praying for a bail-out from Nissan.
Why you should care: Yes, this shows the power of social media influencers (and some shockingly bad PR moves), but more than that, it shows the fragility of automotive start-ups. It’s one thing when the start-up behind your $10/month MoviePass goes bust, but it’s pretty scary to think that the company that makes your $70,000 car might vanish. And it’s not just the potential “bricking” of cars that people have to worry about, but the slow degradation that happens when companies are languishing—as Chinese EV start-up Weltmeister struggled last year, many car owners faced mysterious key issues and couldn’t get in touch with the service hotline (those cars also had a tendency to spontaneously combust). Cars are so software-dependent now that without continuous updates and support from manufacturers, there’s every chance that you could hop in your car one day and not be able to start it—if you can get in at all.
Extra Reckoning
This week’s Extra Reckoning is a preview of a guest post I did for Metaverse EU, a fantastic think tank/Substack on XR in Europe.
Twenty people in a room on Valentine’s Day with stimulating discussion, a common goal, and even some chocolate: I speak not of a speed-dating event, but of Foundation Metaverse Europe’s first Brussels symposium, which brought experts together to discuss “Creating Values on the Way to the Metaverse.” Along with MEP Axel Voss and Head of DG Connect Rehana Schwinninger-Ladak, I was privileged to deliver a keynote about protecting fundamental rights in the metaverse (and XR more generally), and here I share some of my reflections with the Metaverse EU community.
Let’s start with a premise: the virtual is real…
For the rest, head over to Metaverse EU:
I Reckon…
sometimes you don’t need AI when good old Photoshop will do the trick.1
And trigger just as many conspiracies. Blink twice if you’re ok, Kate.
Thumbnail image generated by DALL-E 3 via ChatGPT with the initial request “An abstract painting in a consistent color palate representing the passage of time”.