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TOTM Barry Schwartz’s seminal work “The Paradox of Choice” has received substantial attention since its publication nearly 20 years ago. In it, Schwartz argued that, faced . . .
Barry Schwartz’s seminal work “The Paradox of Choice” has received substantial attention since its publication nearly 20 years ago. In it, Schwartz argued that, faced with an ever-increasing plethora of products to choose from, consumers often feel overwhelmed and seek to limit the number of choices they must make.
Read the full piece here.
Presentations & Interviews ICLE Director of Innovation Policy Kristian Stout took part in a virtual panel hosted by the Center for Data Innovation about whether the “automated decision . . .
ICLE Director of Innovation Policy Kristian Stout took part in a virtual panel hosted by the Center for Data Innovation about whether the “automated decision opt-out” features of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could be improved without harming users. The full clip is embedded below.
TOTM The European Commission this week published its proposed Artificial Intelligence Regulation, setting out new rules for “artificial intelligence systems” used within the European Union. The . . .
The European Commission this week published its proposed Artificial Intelligence Regulation, setting out new rules for “artificial intelligence systems” used within the European Union. The regulation—the commission’s attempt to limit pernicious uses of AI without discouraging its adoption in beneficial cases—casts a wide net in defining AI to include essentially any software developed using machine learning. As a result, a host of software may fall under the regulation’s purview.
TOTM The European Commission has unveiled draft legislation that would overhaul the rules governing the online lives of its citizens. The draft rules are something of a mixed bag.
The European Commission has unveiled draft legislation (the Digital Services Act, or “DSA”) that would overhaul the rules governing the online lives of its citizens. The draft rules are something of a mixed bag. While online markets present important challenges for law enforcement, the DSA would significantly increase the cost of doing business in Europe and harm the very freedoms European lawmakers seek to protect. The draft’s newly proposed “Know Your Business Customer” (KYBC) obligations, however, will enable smoother operation of the liability regimes that currently apply to online intermediaries.
TOTM The importance of testing and contact tracing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and resume normal life is now well established. The difference . . .
The importance of testing and contact tracing to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and resume normal life is now well established. The difference between the communities that do it and the ones that don’t is disturbingly grim (see, e.g., South Korea versus Italy). In a large population like the U.S., contact tracing and alerts will have to be done in an automated way with the help of mobile service providers’ geolocation data. The intensive use of data in South Korea has led many commenters to claim that the strategy that’s been so effective there cannot be replicated in western countries with strong privacy laws.
Regulatory Comments We begin our analysis of the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) with a discussion of the standardized regulatory impact assessment (SRIA) prepared for the AG’s Office by Berkeley Economic Advising and Research, LLC.
We begin our analysis of the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) with a discussion of the standardized regulatory impact assessment (SRIA) prepared for the AG’s Office by Berkeley Economic Advising and Research, LLC. The bottom-line cost figures from this report are staggering: $55 billion in upfront costs and $16.5 billion in additional costs over the next decade. The analysis includes large benefits as well, but as we show in the full comments, the actual costs are even higher than the SRIA estimates and the benefits fall far short of making up for those costs.
We also draw on the the early evidence coming out of the EU related to GDPR enforcement and compliance to highlight some potential pitfalls that California is facing. In particular, after its first twelve month period in force, the compliance costs were astronomical; enforcement of individual “data rights” led to unintended con- sequences; “privacy protection” seems to have undermined market competition; and there have been large unseen — but not unmeasurable — costs in forgone startup investment.
Finally, we note that, despite the DC Circuit trimming the FCC’s 2018 Restoring Internet Freedom Order, the fact remains that the FCC still retains a conflict-preemption authority to specifically preempt state laws that are incompatible with its regulations. The DC Circuit only limited the FCC’s ability to generally preempt all potentially conflicting state laws, requiring that each preemption be challenged in a fact-intensive inquiry. Similarly, it is also possible that the broad extent of the CCPA’s rules, and their impositions on firms outside of California’s borders could lead to Dormant Commerce Clause challenges. Activities that “inherently require a uniform system of regulation” or that “impair the free flow of materials and products across state borders” violate the Dormant Commerce Clause. As the FCC noted in its RIF Order, Internet-based communications is such a type of activity.
We therefore offered the following suggestions:
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TOTM Nearly all economists from across the political spectrum agree: free trade is good. Yet free trade agreements are not always the same thing as free . . .
Nearly all economists from across the political spectrum agree: free trade is good. Yet free trade agreements are not always the same thing as free trade. Whether we’re talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership or the European Union’s Digital Single Market (DSM) initiative, the question is always whether the agreement in question is reducing barriers to trade, or actually enacting barriers to trade into law.
