# Information age conflicts between various large groups The power plays aren't strictly a monolithic attempt to subdue unsuspecting individuals. There are *gigantic* power battles back-and-forth between the large organizations (as well as [watchdog journalists](stories-storytellers.md)) for antitrust and pro-trust agendas. Beyond the following, there are also [merger halts](faang-conflicts-merger.md), [mandatory Right to Repair](faang-conflicts-r2r.md) ## Large-Scale Events The Tech Industry At Large - [2021-07 There's an ongoing battle about user privacy at the W3C](https://web.archive.org/web/20210713100748/https://www.protocol.com/policy/w3c-privacy-war). - [2022-06 The Internet Archive has joined in opposition against the SMART Copyright Act](https://web.archive.org/web/20220604173823/https://blog.archive.org/2022/03/29/internet-archive-joins-opposition-to-the-smart-copyright-act/). Government vs. Broad Tech Industry Players - [2021-10 The FTC has put hundreds of businesses on notice about misleading endorsements such as fake reviews](https://web.archive.org/web/20211013153025/https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2021/10/ftc-puts-hundreds-businesses-notice-about-fake-reviews-other). - [2021-10 The FDA wants people to be able to buy hearing aides without a prescription](https://web.archive.org/web/20211019180514/https://www.npr.org/2021/10/19/1047303559/fda-hearing-aid-prescription-over-the-counter). - [2021-10 The US Senate is trying to block large tech companies from prioritizing their products over their rivals](https://web.archive.org/web/20211014090710/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/10/14/klobuchar-grassley-antitrust-bill/). - [2021-11 The FTC has declared "click to subscribe, call to cancel" as illegal](https://web.archive.org/web/20211115170706/https://www.niemanlab.org/2021/11/the-end-of-click-to-subscribe-call-to-cancel-one-of-the-news-industrys-favorite-retention-tactics-is-illegal-ftc-says/). - [2021-12 Germany is drafting legislation that grants a "right to encryption"](https://web.archive.org/web/20211203104354/https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/germany-right-to-encryption/) and [is trying to provoke Europe to ban mass surveillance](https://web.archive.org/web/20211125171453/https://reclaimyourface.eu/new-german-government-calls-for-european-ban-on-biometric-mass-surveillance/). - [2021-12 After citizens protesting, Belgium has removed the "backdoor requirement" from their drafted law](https://web.archive.org/web/20211221103329/https://tutanota.com/blog/posts/belgian-encryption-backdoor-law-stopped/). - [2022-02 IAB Europe, a cookie consent popup tracker, has been fined €250,000 for breaking GDPR rules](https://web.archive.org/web/20220208232221/https://proprivacy.com/privacy-news/iab-consent-popups-ruled-illegal). - [2022-05 Pennsylvania introduced "Click to Cancel" legislation, which requires a simple click-to-unsubscribe for services that only require clicking *to* subscribe](https://web.archive.org/web/20220520053731/https://pahouse.com/InTheNews/NewsRelease/?id=124404). - [2022-06 EU legislation means multiple Big Tech companies will have to explain their algorithms](https://web.archive.org/web/20220602153849/https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/23/23036976/eu-digital-services-act-finalized-algorithms-targeted-advertising). - [2022-07 The EU Digital Markets Act creates many regulations aimed at Google, Apple, and Amazon](https://web.archive.org/web/20220718085054/https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/07/18/dma-council-gives-final-approval-to-new-rules-for-fair-competition-online/). - [2022-08 The Korean Supreme Court declares that scraping web data is legal](https://web.archive.org/web/20220812164006/https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=1ae8c0a9-660b-45b7-9ef6-030f387d6e29). - [2022-09 US Federal government tends not to prosecute Big Tech, but states are taking action](https://web.archive.org/web/20220915185819/https://fortune.com/2022/09/15/amazon-lawsuit-california-state-federal-social-media-hearing/). - [2023-03 The US FTC wants to ban subscriptions which are difficult to cancel](https://web.archive.org/web/20230323104247/https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/23/23652373/ftc-click-to-cancel-subscription-service-dark-patterns-ban). - [2023-08 Internet service providers are complaining that a government request to list all recurring monthly fees is too burdensome](https://web.archive.org/web/20230823233446/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/08/isps-complain-that-listing-every-fee-is-too-hard-urge-fcc-to-scrap-new-rule/). - [2023-08 The EU has now illegalized default opt-in for in-app behavior-based advertising](https://web.archive.org/web/20230827081437/https://thisisunpacked.substack.com/p/the-eu-war-on-behavioral-advertising). - [2023-09 The US FCC plans to reinstate net neutrality](https://archive.ph/20230927140558/https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/26/fcc-announces-plans-to-reinstate-net-neutrality/). Government vs. Multiple - [2021-12 A German government has ruled that US-based cookie providers can't collect data on German citizens](https://web.archive.org/web/20211224184304/https://iapp.org/news/a/new-eu-data-blockage-as-german-court-would-ban-many-cookie-management-providers/). - [2022-01 France has fined Google and Facebook millions of euros for not complying with their cookie policies](https://web.archive.org/web/20220106081310/https://www.cnil.fr/en/cookies-cnil-fines-google-total-150-million-euros-and-facebook-60-million-euros-non-compliance). - [2022-01 Illinois is trying to stop tech giants from taking considerable royalties out of developers' profits](https://web.archive.org/web/20220120001854/https://www.wgem.com/2022/01/19/illinois-bill-looks-take-california-tech-monopoly/). - [2022-06 The FCC commissioner Brendan Carr demands Apple and Google remove TikTok from their app stores from their suspicious data practices](https://web.archive.org/web/20220628233008/https://twitter.com/BrendanCarrFCC/status/1541823585957707776). - [2022-07 EU Approves Legislation to Regulate Big Tech Firms](https://web.archive.org/web/20220706085442/https://www.macrumors.com/2022/07/05/eu-approves-landmark-legislation-to-regulate-apple/). - [2022-07 A California district has sued Meta and hospitals for using healthcare data in targeted advertisements](https://web.archive.org/web/20220730230410/https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/meta-us-hospitals-sued-for-using-healthcare-data-to-target-ads/). - [2022-09 A US appeals court has blocked Facebook, Google, and Twitter from regulating online speech](https://web.archive.org/web/20220916235709/https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-appeals-court-rules-against-big-techs-ability-regulate-online-speech-2022-09-16/). - [2022-11 France has banned Microsoft Office 365 and Google Docs from schools and public administration](https://web.archive.org/web/20221117071609/https://siecledigital.fr/2022/11/17/le-ministre-de-leducation-nationale-ne-veut-pas-de-microsoft-office-365-ni-de-google-workspace/). - [2022-11 The UK is investigating Google and Apple about their mobile browser dominance](https://web.archive.org/web/20221122132438/https://www.ibtimes.com/uk-investigating-apple-google-mobile-browser-dominance-3639076). - [2023-05 New York State's Attorney General secured $615 from the three companies LCX, Lead ID, and Ifficient who supplied millions of fake comments to influence a 2017 FCC decision on net neutrality rules](https://web.archive.org/web/20230511131009/https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2023/attorney-general-james-secures-615000-companies-supplied-fake-comments-influence). - [2023-07 Massachusetts may soon ban the sale of cellphone location data](https://archive.is/20230710145220/https://www.wsj.com/articles/first-u-s-ban-on-sale-of-cellphone-location-data-might-be-coming-fbe47e53). - [2023-08 After Canada's C-18 bill, the Online News Act, required Google and Meta to pay for news links, they both stopped existing in Canada](https://web.archive.org/web/20230802143317/https://www.michaelgeist.ca/2023/08/metablockslinks/). - [2023-09 The UK will not move forward in using its powers in the online safety bill after WhatsApp and other tech companies threatened to pull out of the country](https://archive.ph/HDnUa). The People vs. Multiple - [2022-11 Apple was hit with a class-action lawsuit because they tracked users' mobile activity even though they assured customers they were respecting their privacy](https://archive.is/20221114232803/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/apple-hit-with-class-action-over-tracking-of-mobile-app-activity). - [2023-08 Comcast and CenturyLink were unable to stop a community-owned gigabit fiber network in Bountiful, Utah](https://web.archive.org/web/20230805080602/https://www.techdirt.com/2023/08/04/comcast-centurylink-fail-to-derail-community-owned-gigabit-fiber-network-in-bountiful-utah/). - [2023-11 Voters in Maine have overwhelmingly voted for a Right to Repair law for cars](https://web.archive.org/web/20231114132456/https://www.404media.co/voters-overwhelmingly-pass-car-right-to-repair-law-in-maine/). ## Reduced antagonism For all the above, many organizations have somewhat scaled back their actions. - [2022-06 Spotify and Google announced User Choice Billing](https://web.archive.org/web/20220614052051/https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-03-23/spotify-and-google-announce-user-choice-billing/). - [2022-06 You can now ask Google to remove your phone number, email, or address from search results](https://web.archive.org/web/20220615194434/https://krebsonsecurity.com/2022/04/you-can-now-ask-google-to-remove-your-phone-number-email-or-address-from-search-results/). - [2022-06 Google gives Europeans a "reject all" button to conform with the EU's GDPR laws](https://web.archive.org/web/20220615032753/https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/21/23035289/google-reject-all-cookie-button-eu-privacy-data-laws). - [2023-11 Google has cut back its experimental Web Environment Integrity API to only apply to Android devices](https://web.archive.org/web/20231108090731/https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/02/google_abandons_web_environment_integrity/).