Apple Says It Will Exit The UK Market If Government Passes Update To IPA

[rcjordan]

Investigatory Powers Act
https://www.techdirt.com/2023/07/21/apple-says-it-will-exit-the-uk-market-if-government-passes-update-to-investigatory-powers-act/

I'm seeing several instances of Ultra-Big Tech threatening this lately:

"Apple products and services are far more popular with government constituents than the governments themselves. So, when governments start making unreasonable demands, the simplest solution is to GTFO."

Meta & G have recently been threatening state & national governments with withdrawing news if they have to pay sources.

Google to scrap local news links in Canada over Online News Act - BBC News
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66049640

California witnessed the Canadian kerfuffle and...

California bill requiring Big Tech to pay for news placed on hold until 2024
https://techxplore.com/news/2023-07-california-bill-requiring-big-tech.html

[BoL]

Fair play to them. The UK in itself is an increasingly small market share, wot wiv Brexit and that.

What other leverage is there if Apple will just give the country as a pass.

[rcjordan]

>Fair play to them

From a business standpoint, I agree.  But I have increasing concerns about companies getting so popular, so intertwined with the lives of users in a country that they can effectively play the "I'm going to take my ball and go home" card.  Politically, the backlash could be almost as powerful as causing fuel prices to rise.

[Torben]

UK after Brexit is just a nice-to-have market but they still think they rule 2/3 of the world.

The EU could get away with it but that would go against GDPR

[rcjordan]

A biting Telegraph editorial I read yesterday...


"Britain has some of the lowest productivity in the developed world, meaning that we generate less stuff per hour. Slovenes are overtaking us now, and Poles are on course to do so in the mid-2030s. South Koreans, who had a third of our income per head as recently as 1985, have already surpassed us. Yet we refuse to acknowledge, let alone address, the causes of our decline."


Britain is now a poor nation. This is the number one issue we face – yet our leaders ignore it
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/22/britain-is-now-a-poor-nation-this-is-our-number-one-issue/

[Brad]

Dunno.  Remember when Google threatened to shut down in Australia?  Suddenly, the US, EU and others started taking real serious looks at breaking up Google's monopoly status.  Google's threat made all the other nation-states wonder who was next so they informally banded together to bring Google down a notch.  Countries may seem weak compared to big flashy corporations but don't ever underestimate a government's power to coerce when they feel threatened.

[rcjordan]

Evening Update: Meta begins to end news access for Canadians on Facebook, Instagram

The changes began Tuesday and will roll out gradually over the coming weeks. Google has also announced it plans to remove news content from its platforms in Canada.

https://deadline.com/2023/08/facebook-instagram-start-blocking-news-content-in-canada-meta-1235452743/

[rcjordan]

France's AFP sues Musk's X social media, cites refusal to discuss payment for news | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/frances-afp-sues-musks-x-social-media-cites-refusal-discuss-payment-news-2023-08-03/



"In 2021, France's antitrust watchdog fined Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google 500 million euros for failing to comply with orders on how to conduct talks with the country's news publishers.

Since then, Google has committed to resolving the dispute and has announced deals with AFP and several other leading French news organisations. Meta Platforms' (META.O) Facebook too has signed agreements with some French publishers."

[grnidone]

>But I have increasing concerns about companies getting so popular, so intertwined with the lives of users in a country that they can effectively play the "I'm going to take my ball and go home" card.

Dare I say this is the way of the world, and this happens all the time? Look at Big Pharma or the Defense industry.

[rcjordan]

Politicians too scared to take on tech firms, says former senior Met officer | UK news | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/aug/10/politicians-too-scared-to-take-on-tech-firms-says-former-senior-met-officer

[rcjordan]

Why US tech giants are threatening to quit the UK - BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66304002

[rcjordan]

>Meta begins to end news access for Canadians on Facebook, Instagram

Canada demands Meta lift news ban to allow wildfire info sharing | Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/technology/canada-demands-meta-lift-ban-news-allow-fires-info-be-shared-2023-08-18/

"In response, a Meta spokesperson said by email that the company had activated the "Safety Check" feature on Facebook that allows users to spread the word that they are safe in the wake of a natural disaster or a crisis.

Canadians can use Facebook and Instagram to access content from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations, the spokesperson added.

Meta says users do not come to its platform for news and forcing the company to pay for content shared on its platforms is unsustainable for its business."