Tech Regulation - Thematic Intelligence

Tech Regulation - Thematic Intelligence
Summary

Technology is embedded in many aspects of our daily lives and can catalyze growth in an era of economic uncertainty. Digital transformation can help enterprises and consumers tackle some of the challenges they currently face, from pandemics to geopolitical conflicts to the climate emergency. However, the pace of innovation in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and digital health creates unprecedented risks to society. As digitalization accelerates, regulatory activity will increase, and scrutiny of the tech industry will intensify. Making regulation fit for the digital economy without hampering innovation is a thorny task that regulators must grasp.

Key HighlightsRegulators will come after tech companies in 12 regulatory arenas: data security, data privacy, antitrust, tax avoidance, misinformation, online harm, AI ethics, copyright, net neutrality, US-China tech sanctions, ESG, and obstruction of justice.Data privacy, antitrust, AI, and online harm will be the main targets of regulators’ investigations in the near term, as these are the most critical areas to ensure a safe and efficient digital economy. Brussels is taking the lead in promoting new regulation-including on AI-with a string of new laws targeting Big Tech’s business model. In Washington, despite President Biden’s resolve to step up tech regulation, a divided Congress makes a change in the legal landscape unlikely. For its part, the Chinese government must strike a delicate balance: maintaining regulatory oversight of the tech sector while innovating fast in the technologies most under pressure from the US.ScopeThis report looks at the impact of 12 regulatory arenas on Big Tech: data security, data privacy, antitrust, tax avoidance, misinformation, online harm, AI ethics, copyright, net neutrality US-China tech sanctions, ESG, and obstruction of justice.Data privacy, antitrust, AI ethics, and online harm will be the four main target areas of regulators’ investigations. The report includes detailed analysis of each of these four areas, including details of recent and upcoming regulation.This report also includes a ranking of Big Tech companies based on their overall exposure to regulatory risk.Reasons to BuyAs the digital landscape continues to evolve, the importance of regulating tech has become apparent to governments globally. Following the establishment of the GDPR by the EU, many countries have followed suit, creating similar legislative frameworks to regulate the handling of data online. In addition to data protection, governments have been developing laws to govern antitrust, misinformation, and online harm.This report provides an invaluable overview of this important and highly disruptive theme.