Several of these businesses are becoming increasingly frustrated. The “tipping point” for them is UK regulation, which is coming at them thick and fast. The Internet Safety Law is expected to be passed this autumn. By creating stringent guidelines for monitoring social media information, it wants to protect children. Internet executives who disobey the rules face harsh financial penalties and even imprisonment. One especially contentious provision is a proposal that encrypted messages, including those transmitted via WhatsApp, be read and handed over to law police by the platforms on which they are sent if there is a security of the state or child protection concern, reports Technology News UK.
Presently, messaging apps with this encryption, such as WhatsApp, Proton, and Signal, cannot see the content of these messages. In light of this demand, WhatsApp and Signal have both promised to leave the UK market.
The Digital Markets Bill is also being debated in Parliament. It suggests that the UK’s competition authority select huge corporations such as Amazon and Microsoft, impose rules on them, and punish them if they do not comply. According to several corporations, this provides a single body with extraordinary power. The company responded angrily when the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) decided to block Microsoft’s acquisition of video game behemoth Activision Blizzard. “There’s a clear message here – the European Union is a more appealing place to launch a business than the United Kingdom,” screamed CEO Brad Smith. Since then, the CMA has reopened talks with Microsoft. This is especially troubling given that the EU is enacting severe measures similarly.
