We all want to be able to address abuse on the internet. In the UK, the government is trying to achieve this through the Online Safety Bill (OSB). Developing such a bill is difficult as technology evolves far faster than legislation. But even allowing for that challenge, and that the OSB has some genuinely good intentions, the proposed legislation is still remarkably poor.
With the rise of remote and hybrid work culture, businesses have increasingly turned to different employee monitoring methods. But employee monitoring isn’t something new. It’s been around for a long time and involves practices like monitoring clock-ins, using security cameras, and implementing GPS tracking. Is it allowed? In some cases, it’s entirely legal; in others, it can invite problems.
After a 2 year-long investigation, the German Government’s Data Protection Office (Datenschutzkonferenz or DSK) has concluded that Microsoft 365 is not GDPR compliant and banned its use in schools all over Germany. This news further confirms a Europe-wide trend of government-related institutions moving away from US-based tech providers.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was big news for companies when it came into effect in 2018. It aimed to put more controls on how organizations manage the personal data of their EU-based users. Since the law’s enactment in 2018, some US states, such as California and Virginia, followed suit and passed their own data privacy laws for their respective residents. Companies that do business in those regions now have to ensure they comply with these legal requirements.
Gone are the days when email was the main channel of digital communication. In 2022, messaging apps are the way we all communicate in our personal and professional lives. We use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Viber, and others to communicate with friends and family. At work, we rely on platforms such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Rocket.Chat. However, some of these messaging platforms have one big disadvantage compared to email - the lack of interoperability (or cross-platform messaging).
The final text will probably be available around mid-May and voted for in early July, but the latest version we have seen lists the following.
A couple of weeks ago the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Europe agreed on the main guidelines for the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA is legislation aiming to create a more competitive digital market in Europe by mandating competition-friendly practices from the ‘gatekeepers’ i.e. the largest tech companies (see below for full definition).
The 117th Congress has introduced nearly 400 labor and employment bills since first convening on Jan. 3, 2021, ranging from protecting farmworkers from wildfire smoke and excessive heat to establishing fair practices around unionization and everything in between. As everyone’s favorite singing piece of legislation would say, “But today I am still just a bill.” The vast majority of these 400 bills stand a 2% chance or less of being enacted into law.
Over the past two years, Singapore has been introducing new regulations that guide companies in managing the welfare of boards and shareholders for annual general meetings to facilitate businesses and organisations in making alternative arrangements in light of safe distancing measures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
