<\/p>\n
News:<\/span><\/b> Recently, Facebook accused Apple of abusing its market power. It has been criticized for introducing a new <\/span>AppTrackingTransparency<\/span><\/b> feature on its app store, which aims to enhance the user\u2019s privacy. <\/span><\/p>\n However, in the name of enhancing privacy, it has been alleged to cause <\/span>disadvantages to competitors<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Apple\u2019s <\/span><\/b>new feature requires apps to request permission from users. The users grant permission for tracking them across other apps and websites or sharing their information with and from third parties.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The new privacy measures are poised to <\/span>enhance user privacy<\/span><\/b>. These features will check <\/span>\u201cpermissionless\u201d<\/span><\/b> tracking over the internet. It has given consumers more control over how their data is used.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Privacy has become a dimension of <\/span>Quality of Service (QoS)<\/span><\/b>. It has also become a method of<\/span> non-price competition<\/span><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n –<\/strong> For example, Apple and DuckDuckGo<\/strong> are employing enhanced user privacy as a competitive metric. In 2018, OECD accepted that privacy is a relevant dimension of quality. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In case privacy becomes a <\/span>competitive constraint<\/span><\/b>, then companies will be incentivized to innovate and create <\/span>privacy-preserving<\/span><\/b> and <\/span>enhancing technologies.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Worldwide regulators recognise <\/span>privacy <\/span><\/b>as a serious <\/span>metric of quality<\/span><\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n –<\/strong> For instance, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in <\/span>WhatsApp\u2019s \u201ctake-it\u201d or \u201cleave-it\u201d privacy policy case<\/span><\/b> observed that the WhatsApp policy amounted to degradation of privacy and therefore quality.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>market-based approach<\/span><\/b> is being used to regulate privacy in digital platforms. It has been found that a website which does not face strong competition are significantly more likely to ask for more personal information than other services. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It can hurt<\/span> small businesses<\/span><\/b>. They benefit from <\/span>targeted advertising services<\/span><\/b>. However, features like this debar them from accessing data. <\/span><\/p>\n –<\/strong> For example, Facebook has shown itself as a provider of<\/span> privacy-centred alternatives<\/span><\/b>. It has been misusing its market power. It has misused privacy in order to reduce competitor in the market, and The Google<\/span>\u2019s Privacy Sandbox project<\/span><\/b> has been criticized by the<\/span> UK\u2019s competition authority (CMA)<\/span><\/b> for concentrating on online advertising.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The proposed changes aim to<\/span> reduce competition<\/span><\/b> in the market. For example, the Big Tech often acquires other firms to eliminate potential competition. It has been described as a <\/span>\u201ckill zone\u201d<\/span><\/b> by specialists.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There is an absence of a modern framework for competition in the digital market. They continue to rely on the <\/span>Bork\u2019s theory of consumer welfare<\/span><\/b>, i.e., the objective of <\/span>antitrust<\/span><\/b> should be to maximise consumer welfare. It is best pursued through promotion of <\/span>economic efficiency.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Big Tech, can create barriers for newer entrants in the name of privacy<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Care must be taken so that Big Tech does not misuse privacy to create barriers for newer entrants.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The tracking restriction on <\/span>third-party t<\/span><\/b>racking should not be arbitrary and extensive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The use of privacy as a tool for market development must balance <\/span>enabling <\/span><\/b>and<\/span> stifling competition.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The regulators need to balance user autonomy, consumer protection, innovation, and market competition in digital markets.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Source<\/span><\/b>: The post is based on an article \u201cBig Tech\u2019s privacy promise to consumers could be good news \u2014 and also bad news<\/strong>\u201d published in the Indian Express<\/strong> on 13<\/strong><\/span>th<\/strong> April 2022<\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" News: Recently, Facebook accused Apple of abusing its market power. It has been criticized for introducing a new AppTrackingTransparency feature on its app store, which aims to enhance the user\u2019s privacy. However, in the name of enhancing privacy, it has been alleged to cause disadvantages to competitors.\u00a0 What is the new feature?\u00a0 Apple\u2019s new feature… Continue reading Big Tech\u2019s privacy promise to consumers could be good news \u2014 and also bad news\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[216,10500],"class_list":["post-179110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-3","tag-indian-express","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704837445},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}What is the new feature?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
Why the new feature has been introduced?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n
What are the potential issues of using privacy as a measure of competition?<\/span><\/b><\/h5>\n
Way Forward<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n