Hi there, welcome back to Berry Picks. I may have started with “on the precipice of ruling out data protection in favor of AI.“ but it still sounded a little bit too absurd to even be a viable candidate for April fools, no?
🤖 Artificial Intelligence
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) launched an inquiry into the partnerships and investments between major tech firms and generative AI companies to assess their impact on competition. On January 25, 2024, the FTC issued compulsory orders under Section 6(b) of the FTC Act to Alphabet, Inc., Amazon.com, Inc., Anthropic PBC, Microsoft Corp., and OpenAI, Inc. This move aims to scrutinize these relationships, particularly focusing on how they might influence the competitive dynamics and innovation in the AI sector. FTC Chair highlighted the importance of safeguarding competition to foster innovation. The inquiry will explore the strategic rationale, practical implications, and competitive impact of these investments and partnerships, including their effect on product development and market share. The companies involved, linked to multi-billion-dollar investments, have 45 days to comply with the orders, helping the FTC deepen its understanding of the AI market’s competitive landscape. Organic info, straight from the source.
🔏 Data Protection & Privacy
The European Court of Human Rights updated its factsheet on personal data protection. We unfortunately cannot go through all of them but some notable additions include O.G. and Others v. Greece and Skoberne v. Slovenia. In the O.G. case, the Court addressed a case involving the forced publication of medical data about prostitutes diagnosed as HIV-positive, alongside their compulsory blood tests. The Court found a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private life) of the Convention in two aspects: firstly, concerning the mandatory blood tests for two applicants, deemed an unlawful intrusion into their private lives as the legal basis was not foreseeable in its effects; secondly, regarding the publication of personal data for four applicants, which constituted a disproportionate interference with their privacy. This publication involved sharing their names, photographs, and HIV status on a police website and in the media, without considering less intrusive means of exposure. Parts of the case were struck out due to the death of four applicants or dismissed for other procedural reasons, such as being out of time or for failure to exhaust domestic remedies. In Skoberne, which involved a former judge convicted in 2013 for accepting bribes, the European Court of Human Rights found violations of privacy and fair trial rights under the European Convention on Human Rights. The judge’s conviction was based on statements from two co-defendants and on traffic and location data obtained under Slovenia’s data-retention regime at that time. The Court ruled this breached Article 8, concerning the right to respect for private life, criticizing the systematic and indiscriminate retention of telecommunications data for 14 months as unnecessary in a democratic society. Additionally, the Court found a violation of Article 6, relating to the right to a fair trial and the right to examine witnesses. It highlighted that the judge was denied the opportunity to effectively present witness evidence, rendering the trial proceedings unfair.
🛒 E-Commerce & Digital Consumer
The third batch of reports under the Code of Practice on Disinformation were published by its signatories, including online platforms like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and TikTok. These reports focus on measures to combat disinformation, especially in the context of the upcoming European elections in June. They outline actions already taken and plans for the election period, emphasizing safeguards against the risks posed by generative AI. European Commission officials, stressed the importance of these efforts for maintaining election integrity and the democratic process. The platforms have adopted various strategies, such as labeling manipulated content, collaborating with fact-checkers, promoting authoritative information, and initiating media literacy campaigns. These reports, part of an ongoing effort since February 2023, aim to prepare for and counter misinformation threats during elections. The European Commission reportedly plans to recognize the Code of Practice as a Code of Conduct under the DSA and introduced DSA guidelines for large online platforms and search engines regarding elections.
Amazon was fined nearly $8 million by Poland’s consumer and competition watchdog, UOKiK, for use of dark patterns. So for misleading consumers about when a sales contract is concluded on its online platform and for using deceptive design elements that create a false sense of urgency, affecting perceptions of product availability and delivery dates. The fine follows an investigation initiated in February 2023 after consumer complaints, some involving unreceived products. UOKiK’s findings reveal that Amazon treats the act of shipping as the actual conclusion of a sales contract, not the moment of purchase confirmation, which is not clearly communicated to consumers, often being buried in difficult-to-access information. Additionally, Amazon’s misleading presentation of product stock levels and delivery times, termed “dark patterns,” pressures consumers to make purchases based on inaccurate information. Despite offering a delivery guarantee, Amazon was found not to adequately inform consumers about this service’s specifics or their rights to a refund for delivery delays. Amazon intends to appeal the decision, maintaining its commitment to fast, reliable delivery and customer satisfaction.
📄 Recommended Readings
Here’s a couple –in no particular order– of recent publications that piqued my interest this week. Remember to grab a cuppa and settle in for some riveting reading.
Decolonial Data Law and Governance by Siddharth Peter de Souza, Hellen Mukiri Smith & Linnet Taylor
Voice as the Window to the Soul: Analysis of the Level of Protection Granted by the GDPR to Emotions Inferred from One’s Voice by Tereza Duchoňová
Copyright Law and the Lifecycle of Machine Learning Models by Martin Kretschmer, Thomas Margoni & Pinar Oruç
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the authors or publishers in sharing these, and do not necessarily agree with the views contained within. I try to include mostly open access publications due to, well you know, accessibility of knowledge and science.
So there you have it, folks – another week in the fascinating realm of IT Law. Remember to pop back next week for your latest dose of legal updates, served with a twist. Cheerio!
If you have any thoughts or suggestions on how to make this digest even more enjoyable, feel free to drop a line. Your feedback is always welcome!
Featured image generated using DALL·E 3.
