Tag: media

TikTok could be forced to stop operating in the U.S. following a hearing scheduled for next month
a U.S. judge said today that he will hold a hearing on November 4th-the day after election day-to decide whether the U.S. government can ban transactions with TikTok. The popular short-form video app is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese manufacturer that the Trump administration fears is passing on personal and corporate data to Beijing. An executive order signed by the president in August ordered ByteDance to divest itself of TikTok’s U.S. operations or have it removed from app stores in the states.

At first, the president gave a thumbs up to a deal that would create a new company called TikTok Global that would be 80% owned by ByteDance and 20% owned by U.S. firms Oracle and Walmart. The plan was for TikTok Global to go public via an IPO. Since the president had earlier mused about the U.S. Treasury getting paid for the country’s participation in a TikTok deal, we wonder how the distribution of the shares would be handled with millions of dollars of possible profits at stake. Talks between all of the parties involved continuing.

Meanwhile, a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols on September 27th prevented the U.S. government from forcing the Apple App Store and Google Play Store from removing their listings for TikTok. The latter is not even close to being out of the woods in the states. First of all, the current injunction is temporary and another Trump-signed executive order against TikTok and ByteDance takes effect on November 12th. This order will shut down TikTok in the U.S. if there is no deal to divest the popular app by then. According to a schedule released by the court, no ruling on any legal matter before the court in relation to TikTok will be issued until late next month at the earliest.

What’s holding up the deal are questions about majority ownership of the new company; additionally, China needs to approve the transaction and the country now bans the export of Chinese-made algorithms to other countries. TikTok uses such an algorithm to determine what video subscribers can see. This technology reportedly would not be included in any deal between ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart.

TikTok is beloved by many teens who use the app to create 15-second and 60-second videos of lip-synchs, dances, pranks, and more. During the pandemic, teens stuck inside their homes turned to the app to give them something to do. In the states, TikTok has 50 million active daily users and 100 million active monthly users; the latest data from app analytical firm Sensor Tower reveals that TikTok was the top-grossing app worldwide during the third quarter. It also was the most downloaded app on iOS and Android during the three months that ended in September. Consumer spending on the app rose 800% on an annual basis from July through September.

As with most Chinese tech firms that operate some sort of business in the states, the U.S. government considers TikTok and it’s parent company to be national security threats because of their perceived close ties with the Communist Chinese government. There never has been any proof that these firms (such as Huawei and ZTE) have backdoors built into their products in order to obtain personal data. In the case of TikTok specifically, the fear is that 100 million Americans could be at risk of having this information sent to a server owned by the Communist Chinese government.
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October 8, 2020
TikTok asks judge to block a ban against U.S. downloads of the app
Starting this Sunday, TikTok will be removed from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store based on an order from the Trump Administration. On Wednesday, TikTok asked a U.S. judge to block the administration’s order similar to the way a federal judge on Saturday issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the U.S. government from banning downloads of WeChat in the states.

TikTok is a short-form video app with over 50 million daily active users in the U.S. Extremely popular with teens, subscribers can create 15-second and 60-second videos. Much of the content includes lip-synchs, dances, comedy bits, and pranks. During the pandemic, TikTok became even more popular as it gave those stuck at home something to do. TikTok owner ByteDance is a Chinese company and the U.S. government fears that it is able to steal the personal data belonging to 100 million American subscribers and send it to Beijing. Thus, the Trump administration has called TikTok a threat to national security.

Downloads of TikTok were supposed to be banned in the U.S. starting this past Monday. But talks between Oracle, Walmart, and Byte Dance over a plan that would give Oracle 12.5% and Walmart 7.5% of a new company called TikTok Global was considered a step in the right direction. Thus, the Commerce Department decided to give TikTok an additional week to get the deal done. TikTok Global would be an American company 80% owned by ByteDance, and President Donald Trump has already given his blessing to this arrangement.

In the papers that were filed in court on Wednesday, TikTok said that it is not a national security threat. In fact, TikTok said that the restrictions that the Trump administration want to be placed against it “were not motivated by a genuine national security concern, but rather by political considerations relating to the upcoming general election.” If the order against it isn’t blocked by the court, TikTok says, “hundreds of millions of Americans who have not yet downloaded TikTok will be shut out of this large and diverse online community – six weeks before a national election.”

Chinese State media is not happy about the deal between Oracle, Walmart, and Byte Dance. China Daily and the Global Times said yesterday that there was no reason for a deal to be signed. The papers said that the transaction being discussed is based on bullying and extortion by the U.S. Chinese state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday that the national security concerns that the U.S. consistently brings up are bogus. The papers wrote, “It is time that other countries saw through the outrageous farce of the TikTok drama, knew what is really at stake, and joined hands to oppose such blatant robberies and maintain a fair global business environment.”

ByteDance has also applied for a tech export license. The application was made through Beijing’s municipal commerce bureau and ByteDance is awaiting a decision. Last month, for the first time in 12 years, the Chinese government updated the list of technologies that it can ban from export. On that list is the algorithm used by TikTok that determines which videos users get to see. Developed in China, the algorithm cannot be exported out of China which gives the Communist Chinese government some control over the deal that is being worked out between ByteDance, Oracle, and Walmart. There have been some conflicting statements between the companies over the terms of the deal they each reached with the White House which means that we could remain extremely far away from a deal being announced. But again, there is the deadline to think about and once again those in the states who want to download TikTok on their mobile devices might have only a few days to do so. In November, U.S. subscribers might be forced to give up the app forever.
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September 25, 2020
TikTok says it is close to announcing its sale following the departure of its CEO
When TikTok hired Kevin Mayer to be CEO in May, some viewed it as a ploy, a stunt if you will. That was due to the fact that the short-form video app was being attacked by the U.S. government for having a parent corporation based in China and Mayer had been working for Disney’s streaming service, Disney+. Yes, nothing screams Americana more than Disney and its iconic cartoon characters like Mickey M-O-U-S-E, Donald Duck, and Goofy.

But as the great Robert Zimmerman (you probably know him as Bob Dylan) once sang, “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.” Mayer knew that his days at TikTok were probably numbered since U.S. President Donald Trump was forcing ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok, to divest the latter’s U.S. operations by September 15th or face a nationwide ban. Mayer composed a letter to his staff before departing in which he said that the CEO’s role at TikTok was expected to change dramatically. The Wall Street Journal saw a copy of the note which said, “I understand that the role that I signed up for—including running TikTok globally—will look very different as a result of the U.S. administration’s action to push for a selloff of the U.S. business. I’ve always been globally focused in my work, and leading a global team that includes TikTok U.S. was a big draw for me.”

The plan was for Mayer to announce his departure at the same time TikTok announced a sale. However, word of Mayer’s intentions leaked overnight forcing him to come clean about his intentions earlier than he had hoped. Several ByteDance staffers said that they were stunned by Mayer’s move and said that they didn’t see it coming.

As with many Chinese tech companies trying to operate in the U.S., the current administration accuses TikTok of being a national security threat because it might pass along to Beijing data obtained about U.S. consumers and corporations. ByteDance says that TikTok uses only two servers to store personal data with the main one in the U.S. and a backup server housed in Singapore.

But Mayer’s departure isn’t even the top story involving TikTok this morning. That’s because CNBC reports that a deal to sell the app’s operations in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand could be announced as soon as next week. Those in the know say that Microsoft and Oracle are the leading contenders to close on a deal and that a final decision has yet to be made. Earlier, Twitter had explored making a bid as did a partnership made up of Walmart and SoftBank. The value of any deal could be in the range of $20 billion to $30 billion, but sources say that a final price has not been agreed on.

In an update to its story, CNBC quoted Walmart as saying that it might partner with Microsoft on a deal for TikTok. W Walmart spokesman said, “The way TikTok has integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets. We believe a potential relationship with TikTok U.S. in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow our third-party marketplace and advertising businesses. We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of U.S. TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of US government regulators.”

TikTok has become very popular and was one of the top apps on the App Store and the Google Play Store even before the global pandemic helped pump up its numbers even more. With a large number of teens and pre-teens stuck inside during the peak of the summer, many turned to the app to pass the time. Users can record videos of 15 seconds or 60 seconds in length and content includes lip-syncs, dances, pranks, comedy, and more. In the states, TikTok has 100 million users with 800 million using the app worldwide. It has been installed more than 2 billion times from the App Store and the Google Play Store.

If no deal is reached and the U.S. government bans TikTok, 1,500 Americans will lose their jobs. TikTok also noted that as many as 10,000 Americans would lose the opportunity to be considered for new job opportunities working for the app.
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August 31, 2020
Instagram’s newest feature is all about GIFs
Instagram is one of the many social services that allows its users to add GIFs to their posts, but that’s where anything GIF-related stops. Let’s say your friend posts an animated sticker in stories and you wish to reply with a GIF. Well, that’s not possible, or at least it wasn’t until today.

Earlier today, Instagram announced that users can now reply to their friends’ stories using GIFs pulled from GIPHY. In order to take advantage of the new feature, Instagram users must update their apps via the App Store or Google Play Store.

Judging by the number of replies Instagram’s tweet received soon after the announcement, the ability to reply to stories with GIFs is a welcome addition to the service. Make sure to update your app to try it out now.

Meanwhile, Instagram confirmed last week that it’s testing reactions to direct messages, another long-awaited feature that we might get in the not so distant future. Of course, these are the improvements that we know of, but there might be others in the pipeline.
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February 6, 2020
Instagram update brings dark mode in iOS 13
Instagram made many headlines in the last week or so, as the company is bringing new features to its audience and testing others before releasing them to the general public. After introducing a brand new Threads app and removing one of its most controversial features, Instagram is once again in the spotlight, but for a very different reason.

The social network has just pushed out another update for its iOS app, which brings the highly-anticipated dark mode. The changelog published in the App Store doesn’t mention anything other than bug fixes and performance improvements, but The Verge confirms native dark mode support for iOS 13 is there.

Still, you will not be able to turn the dark mode on or off within the application. Instead, the iPhone’s system-wide settings are the ones that dictate Instagram’s behavior, so if you choose to use the dark theme on your iPhone, the app will match it with its own.

We’re not complaining, but it would have been nice to be able to switch it on and off directly from within the app. All in all, it’s great that another popular iOS app is getting important visual improvements like the dark mode.
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October 17, 2019
Instagram tests hidden like counts in Australia
Some Instagram users in Australia are no longer able to see exactly how many likes other users’ posts have received, after the social media platform expanded a test to hide like counts to more countries today.

Instagram has been testing hidden like counts in Canada for the past 2.5 months, and on Thursday, the platform expanded the test to six more countries, including Australia and New Zealand.

According to reports, users involved in the test can still see how many likes their own posts receive, but the number is not made public, unless they opt out of the test. Instead, posts show the usernames of one or two people, and say they and “others” have liked the post.

The company, which is owned by Facebook, has said it is exploring whether hidden like counts will encourage users to pay more attention to the photos and videos being shared, rather than the number of likes a post receives.

The change comes amid growing concern about the impact of social media on users’ mental health, especially young people. A recent study conducted with university students found that those who limited their total time on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat to 30 minutes per day reported feeling less depressed and lonely.

The head of Instagram Adam Mosseri recently told the Financial Times that ensuring safety and well-being on the platform is his “number-one priority”.

In addition to hiding like counts, the platform is also exploring features to reduce bullying on Instagram, such as a new “nudge” feature that will warn users if they’re about to comment something hurtful, and an “away mode” that will enable users to take a break from the platform without deleting their account.

The platform is also exploring ways to enable users to control how certain people interact with them without having to block them completely.

But while these measures largely have been welcomed by users, it is unclear how they will impact the millions of businesses that use Instagram to share new products and offerings with consumers.

Like counts not only give businesses a rough indication of how popular certain products or trends are, they are a key metric for influencers and the brands that hire them.

An Instagram spokesperson said: We understand that this is important for many creators, and while this test is in exploratory stages, we are thinking through ways for them to communicate value to their brand partners.”
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August 2, 2019
Verizon Media unveils Hong Kong expansion plans
Verizon Media has announced an aggressive expansion program for Hong Kong for the next 180 days and the year ahead, including the expansion of its Yahoo Studio in the market.

The studio will be equipped with audio-visual production equipment for creating HD videos with virtual settings and advanced motion capture capabilities to deliver broadcaster grade production.

The studio produces Yahoo TV live programs including celebrity talk shows and Engadget Updates.

“The new studio can unleash video creativity, enabling us to produce more live programs, HD videos with 3D virtual settings, and e-commerce shows,” said Lorraine Cheung, head of audience at Verizon Media. Live programs include finance, tech, lifestyle, and entertainment programs.

Cheung said the company will unveil its first virtual character this July. The virtual character will not only be a Yahoo KOL but also a co-host of Yahoo’s homegrown TV programs. “The character aims to enhance overall user experience via more fun interaction, turning media into a two-way conversation.”

In addition, Verizon Media is bringing its new Yahoo Rewards membership program to Hong Kong. The program will allow users to earn points with their daily online engagement such as polling, following groups, e-shopping, and content consumption on Yahoo App.

The company plans to roll out a Good Deeds Good Life campaign to the app, which will allow users to earn points by engaging in social causes that benefit the community.

Verizon Media recently unveiled a first-of-its-kind virtual reality advertising offering for demand-side platform users, which aims to help advertisers seamlessly extend existing display and video assets into VR environments.

“We see huge potential in AR and VR technology on improving engagement of ad and branded content. Our focus is to introduce the technology and facilitate the market adoption.” Verizon Media Hong Kong senior director for APAC ad creative technology Roger Li said.

Verizon Media, a division of Verizon, was renamed from Oath in 2019. “The purpose of Verizon Media is to transform how people stay informed and entertained, communicate, and transact,” said Rico Chan, managing director of Verizon Media Hong Kong, Japan and INSEA. “The company’s priorities include growing our member-centric ecosystem, building brands B2B customers love and trust, as well as videofy our brands and platforms.”
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June 13, 2019
Massive leak exposed personal data of 49 million Instagram Accounts
An Instagram database containing the private information of 49 million members, was accidentally left exposed on Amazon Web Services. The database could have been viewed by anyone since it did not have a password for protection. The accounts in the database included those belonging to Instagram influencers, celebrities, and corporate brand accounts and contained their biographies, profile pictures, number of followers, location (city and country), phone numbers and email addresses.

The leak was discovered by security researcher Anurag Sen, who then contacted TechCrunch to help find the owner of the database. As it turns out, the information belonged to a social-media firm in India called Chtrbox that pays influencers to put up sponsored content on their Instagram accounts. The data included a ranking of each influencer depending on the number of followers they each have and the response to their posts by other Instagram members. While Chtrbox hasn’t commented yet on the matter, the database has since been taken offline.

Facebook bought Instagram in April 2012 for approximately $1 billion and said that it will investigate the incident.
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June 12, 2019
Instagram test designed to make users more trusting of content
When Instagram first launched, it was known for the filters that users could apply to their photos, which would then be shared among members. The company was acquired by Facebook in 2012 for a reported $1 billion. Instagram is not as well known as Facebook is for inflaming the passions of subscribers by spreading fake news and political propaganda. Still, a report published says that steps are being taken to prevent the dissemination of false posts over the platform. Instagram is currently running tests with fact checkers.

Facebook currently employs 52 firms that it has partnered with to conduct fact checks. If content found on a particular Facebook post is proven to be false by one of the fact checkers, the post’s distribution through users’ news feed is reduced. And not surprisingly, Instagram’s policy is basically the same. Stephanie Otway, a spokesperson for the app says, “Our approach to misinformation is the same as Facebook’s — when we find misinfo, rather than remove it, we’ll reduce its distribution.” That means flagged posts will be removed from the Explore tab and the hashtag result page, but it will stay up on the author’s page. That limits the readership of these polarizing posts to those who have made a decision to subscribe to authors who disseminate such information.

But there is a big difference between the two sites. The content on Instagram is not nearly as news-oriented as it is on Facebook, especially since the platform doesn’t have hyperlinks inside captions or member comments. Thus, the hysteria is more subdued than on Facebook where a single lie could turn millions of members into a foaming at the mouth crazy. So unlike Facebook, photos that are fake won’t be labeled and there will be no warning shown to Instagram members who want to share these images.

“We all know any kind of images and pictures are a main driver of misinformation in any platform. Alerting those who share (false posts) like they do on Facebook would be best. But perhaps it is only the beginning of their actions there, I suppose. Even though there are plenty of problems regarding misinformation inside Facebook’s many platforms, they are still the ones who are taking the combat of misinformation more seriously.”-Tai Nalon, Director Aos Fatos

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May 31, 2019

Twitter Allows Media Retweeting

We would love to tell you that Twitter now offers an editing tool, making it easier to correct mistakes and spelling errors. We know of at least one guy wearing a long red tie, living in a white house that would really appreciate the ability to go back and change tweets. And we’d love to be able to tell you that Twitter has added such a feature, but alas we can’t. We can, however, tell you about something that Twitter did add to its iOS app, Android app, and its mobile website.

Twitter announced that it will now allow users to add images, videos, and GIFs to their retweets. It’s easy to do, actually. On a tweet you’re viewing, tap on the retweet icon on the bottom toolbar. Click on “retweet with comment” and add your photo or other media. Twitter says that as easy as it is to do, it actually was hard for it to design in a way that wouldn’t look too crowded to the user.

“We found it was challenging for people to quickly understand all the content in a Retweet with media. This was due to the layout; two large tweets stacked on top of each other.”-Twitter

To make sure that a retweet with media attached doesn’t look overwhelming, Twitter puts the original tweet, including the author’s avatar, inside a smaller box. This allows the image, video or GIF you’ve added to your retweet to appear in full size.

While Twitter users are going to be happy with this new feature, they might be much happier if tweets could be edited. Perhaps that will be the next shoe to drop.

May 27, 2019

Employers are more trusted than government,

New Zealanders trust their employers significantly more than they trust the government, NGOs, business or the media, according to the 2019 Acumen Edelman Trust Barometer.

According to the report, “my employer” was more trusted (74 per cent) than government (50 per cent), NGOs (48 per cent), business (47 per cent) and the media (34 per cent).

This is the result of trust in other institutions remaining flat, while trust in employers is on the rise. The finding aligns with the trend of employees seeking out purpose in the their jobs and organisations shifting away from being ‘customer-first’ to being ‘employee-first’.

Acumen Republic’s chief executive Adelle Keely said organisations should see this finding as an opportunity to play a more critical role in the lives of their employees, and reap the benefits of loyalty and productivity.

“Employees are looking for trusted sources of information in a time of change and disruption and there is an opportunity for employers to provide education and useful insights that help them navigate the new world,” she said.

Keely noted there is a growing expectation for business leaders to step up as change-makers, with three-quarters of employees wanting CEOs to take the lead on change instead of waiting for government to impose it. This is 15 points higher than last year, she said.

“Employers need to lead on change, address workers’ concerns, provide information and equip employees for the future. They should demonstrate their relevance and contribute to the communities where they operate. This is particularly important for those not headquartered in New Zealand.”

Interestingly, there is a gender divide in trust in institutions, with women being less trusting than men. Women trust only government, while men have trust in both business and NGOs.

“Trust in business shows the biggest gender divide. This is likely the result of lack of female representation and reporting around pay equity and the #metoo movement,” Keely said.

March 19, 2019

Alibaba Group sales down this month

Alibaba Group sales soared 41 per cent in the December quarter as its customer based neared 700 million.

The Chinese company’s turnover for the three months reached US$17.057 billion and its net income attributable to shareholders $4.807 billion.

“Our resilient operating and financial performance is a direct reflection of our persistent focus on better serving our growing base of nearly 700 million consumers across retail, digital entertainment and local consumer services,” said CEO Daniel Zhang. “Our growth is also driven by the power of Alibaba’s cloud and data technology that helps expedite the digital transformation of millions of enterprises.”

Alibaba group sales from core commerce increased 40 per cent to $14.958 billion, while the cloud-computing division posted 84 per cent growth, turning over $962 million. The digital media and entertainment division achieved 20 per cent growth to reach $944 million.

In a statement, Alibaba said its Taobao platform achieved “robust user growth and enhanced engagement”. Last December, its China retail marketplaces had 699 million mobile monthly average users, representing a quarterly net increase of 33 million. The annual active consumers on its China retail marketplaces was 636 million for the 12 months ended December 31, compared to 601 million for the 12 months ended September 30 last year, “reflecting successful user acquisition programs, such as referrals through the Alipay app”.

More than 70 per cent of the increase in annual active consumers was from third-and-lower tier cities.

Tmall thrives

Alibaba said GMV on its Tmall business grew 29 per cent year on year in the December quarter, outpacing the industry.

“This robust growth was driven by strength in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), apparel and home furnishing categories,” the company said.

During the quarter, Tmall signed up new brands to the platform including Valentino, Ermenegildo Zegna, Stuart Weitzman and Sergio Rossi which opened flagship stores and joined the Tmall Luxury Pavilion.

Meanwhile, Alibaba’s proprietary grocery retail chain Freshippo (formerly Hema) continued to expand its footprint, “optimise its stores and introduce new initiatives that improve customer experience”. As of December 31, there were 109 self-operated Freshippo stores in China, primarily located in tier 1 and tier 2 cities, which continued to achieve “robust same-store sales growth” through the quarter.

‘Robust’ Lazada growth

Alibaba’s Southeast Asian e-commerce platform Lazada achieved what the company described as “robust growth” in GMV. The company upgraded Lazada’s technology, which resulted in boosting the number of active users and achieved greater user engagement on Lazada’s mobile app.

“We continue to invest resources to integrate Lazada’s business and technology operations into Alibaba with the aim of building a strong foundation for us to extend our offerings in Southeast Asia.”

March 12, 2019

Regulating Facebook could hinder small businesses

Digital platforms provide a host of challenges for governments. Questions about how to best protect privacy, democracy, and speech online become more pressing every year.

But policies that affect online platforms also affect international trade. Many Australian small businesses rely on digital platforms to stay on par with their international competitors.

As Australia starts tackling the challenges wrought by digital platforms, policymakers should be careful not to undo the good things that stem from an evermore connected world. That includes the critical role of these platforms in helping retailers sell their products to overseas customers.

Platforms facilitate exports

As my new research with colleague Danielle Parks shows, digital platforms appear to significantly reduce the economic distance and trade costs between buyers and sellers.

Take Facebook, for example. Facebook is both a social networking platform and digital market platform, where Facebook’s Marketplace helps business owners connect with potential customers.

The social networking interface allows buyers and sellers to message each other and exchange information about what the seller has, and what the buyer wants. Meanwhile, Marketplace features like identity verification and buyer ratings help to facilitate connections more quickly, and with more trust, than might otherwise be possible.

There isn’t a lot of large-scale data on cross-border e-commerce, so researchers must get creative to study digital platforms and trade. The findings are extraordinary.

One study found that 97% of US-based eBay sellers export product to overseas buyers. Another found the “economic effect of distance” to be 65% smaller on eBay. In other words, the digital platform reduces the challenges of selling to people in other countries.

Research conducted by PayPal showed that 79% of US small businesses on its platform sell to foreign markets. And PayPal merchants that exported, outperformed businesses in general. Interestingly, that finding held for coastal and non-coastal businesses, and for rural and urban businesses alike.

In our new study, we surveyed Australian businesses on Facebook. We found that those with a Facebook presence were 63% more likely to export their products internationally than other businesses. The propensity to export was higher across all business sectors and nearly all company sizes.

This emerging pattern shows how world markets are opening up to smaller businesses that might not otherwise be able to compete with their larger, multinational rivals. These findings can partly be attributed to export-prone firms being more likely than others to use digital platforms. But there is no question that the platforms can also enable trade.

Most governments recognise the need to dismantle barriers to foreign market access, and any new policies regarding digital platforms should not make it harder for small and medium sized businesses to engage in trade.

How regulation could hurt small businesses

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is currently conducting an inquiry into digital platforms at the request of the treasurer.

The ACCC’s preliminary report recognises how digital platforms have revolutionised the ways consumers and businesses communicate with one another. The report also highlights concerns over data privacy and the influence of bad actors producing and spreading misinformation.

The final report, expected in June, will make policy recommendations that aim to address these concerns. But these policies could also inadvertently threaten the revenue streams of businesses that advertise on these platforms or that use them to facilitate online sales.

Restrictions on the cross border flow of consumer information could interfere with everyday business practices. For example, a key advantage of e-commerce, especially for small businesses, is using search engine techniques to reach larger audiences, and target potential customers. So, search engine restrictions could limit the way businesses target customers with advertising, therefore limiting a business owner’s ability to reach customers abroad.

Other regulations could restrict business owners from storing the personal information of customers – such as credit card information, consumer preferences and purchase history. That would then limit businesses in how they interact with customers at home and abroad.

What’s happening at the moment

Australia is not alone in considering these tough issues. The landscape of digital data flows, data privacy, and e-commerce is a work in progress for governments across the globe.

The EU recently enacted data privacy regulation called the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is designed to:

[…] fundamentally reshape the way in which data is handled across every sector, from health care to banking and beyond.

Meanwhile, the United States Congress will likely consider new internet privacy legislation this year.

Provisions on digital data flows have been included in major recent international trade agreements. Both the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) bar data localisation requirements. That means foreign companies would only be allowed to work in a country if they built out or leased separate data infrastructures in that country – a costly endeavour, especially for smaller businesses.

On the other hand, USMCA and TPP do not allow participating countries to require that platforms disclose their source code or algorithms. These provisions do not necessarily preclude countries from adopting privacy protections, but they do make it easier for platforms like Facebook to operate without fear that they will be asked to handover important intellectual property.

As the government considers the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report, one thing should be clear: any policy changes should not overlook the role of these platforms in helping Australian small businesses sell goods to customers in the global marketplace.

March 12, 2019

Executives blind to disruptive nature of 5G

Accenture says business and technology executives underestimate the disruptive potential of 5G technology. Fifty-three percent of respondents in a global survey of 1,800 executives in 10 countries believe there are “very few” things that 5G will enable them to do that they cannot already do with 4G networks. Only 37% expect 5G to bring a “revolutionary” shift in speed and capacity.

Competitive advantage

5G is believed to have important competitive implications. Up to 60% of surveyed executives believe 5G will cover nearly all the population by the year 2022, and 70% believe that 5G applications will give them a competitive edge with customers. Speed will be a key advantage according to 46% of respondents while 42% cite its capacity.

“The reality is that 5G will bring a major wave of connectivity that opens new dimensions for innovation and commercial and economic development,” said George Nazi, Accenture’s Network practice global lead. “Breakthroughs in three-dimensional video, immersive television, autonomous cars, and smart-city infrastructure will unleash opportunities that are difficult to imagine today but will soon be transformative. Telecommunications companies will play a pivotal role in bringing these prospects to light.”

Role of carriers

Up to 72% of executives said they need help to imagine future possibilities and use cases of 5G. These see telcos as just the right partner on their 5G journeys, cited by 40% of respondents. Hampering this partnership is the recognition by 60% of respondents who cite telcos’ lack of industry knowledge as a key challenge.

Other barriers include the need for upfront investment (36%), security (32%) and employee buy-in (29%). While 78% of executives believe that using 5G in the workplace will make their business more secure, 32% have concerns about the security of the new connectivity standard.

Anders Lindblad, Accenture’s Communications & Media industry lead for Europe, said, “Despite the knowledge gap, there is excitement among business leaders about the value that 5G can bring to enterprises. This value is currently trapped within the perceived risks and uncertainty around 5G, which can be unlocked by organizations that understand customer needs, can overcome barriers to adoption and can drive collaboration among service providers.”

March 11, 2019