Corporate Accountability News Highlights is a regular series by Ranking Digital Rights highlighting key news related to tech companies, freedom of expression, and privacy issues around the world.
Uganda to review social media tax
The Ugandan government is reviewing its decision to impose taxes on the use of social media and on money transactions using mobile phones, in response to protests against the new measures.
#ThisTaxMustGo campaign photo in Uganda.
On July 1, the government started implementing a controversial law that imposes a 200 shilling [US$0.05] daily as a tax on people using internet messaging apps and social media platforms. Uganda’s president defended the law as a measure aimed at curtailing what he described as online gossip and to raise government revenues.
But domestic and international rights groups slammed the law for violating freedom of expression and network neutrality. In particular, the new measures will make it harder for Ugandans living in poverty to communicate and access information, and will widen the digital gender gap in the country.
On July 2, activists and legal advocates filed a court challenge against the law on the basis that it is unconstitutional and that it violates the principles of net neutrality and the open internet. However, it remains unclear when a court hearing will eventually be scheduled.
A free and open internet depends on the ability for all users to have equal access to content and services, which is not possible if ISPs block or delay certain types of content or apps. Telecommunications companies should therefore commit to not prioritize or block certain types of network traffic. As the 2018 Corporate Accountability Index research showed, most of the world’s leading telecommunications companies fall short of making such a public commitment. Of the ten telecommunications companies evaluated, Vodafone was the only company to clearly disclose that it does not prioritize, block, or delay certain types of traffic, applications, protocols, or content for reasons beyond assuring quality of service and reliability of the network.
US lawmakers question Alphabet and Apple on privacy
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, and Apple are facing questions from a U.S. congressional committee over their handling of user information. In two separate letters, the House Energy and Commerce Committee probed the companies on ‘’third-party access to consumer data, and the collection and use of audio recording data as well as location information via iPhone and Android devices.’’
The letters were signed by the committee’s chairman and the heads of its three subcommittees and were addressed to Alphabet CEO Larry Page and Apple CEO Tim Cook. Both companies were asked about reports that Android and iPhone phones collect audio data from users’ conversations in order to hear phrases that will trigger virtual assistants Google Assistant and Siri, and whether third-party applications have access to such data without users’ knowledge. Other questions raised included whether the companies collect and store information when phones are lacking SIM cards, and third-party app developers’ collection of user data.
Internet, mobile, and telecommunications companies should be transparent about how they handle user information, including what user information they collect and share and for what purposes, how they collect that information and with whom they share it, and for how long they retain it. Companies should also give users options to control how their information is used, including for targeted advertising.
The 2018 Corporate Accountability Index found that companies do not disclose enough information about how they handle user information and that users remain largely in the dark about what information about them is collected and shared, with whom, and for what purposes.
Honduras pushes cybersecurity bill
The Honduran parliament is considering a cybersecurity bill that will curtail freedom of expression online. If adopted, the law will require internet platforms and any services hosting user-generated content to remove hate speech or discriminatory content within 24 hours. If they fail to do so, platforms could be fined or blocked.
Internet, mobile, and telecommunications companies should be transparent about how they handle government requests for content restrictions, and publish data about the number of requests received, the number they complied with, and the types of subject matter associated with these requests. Most companies evaluated in the 2018 Corporate Accountability Index lacked transparency about how they handle government requests to restrict content or accounts, and did not disclose sufficient data about the number of requests they received or complied with, or which authorities made these requests.
Companies should also notify users when they restrict content. Services that host user-generated content should notify those who posted the content and users trying to access it. The notification should include a clear reason for the restriction. The 2018 Index found that companies do not disclose sufficient data about their user notification policies when they restrict content or accounts.
