The Wild West of the internet is getting a bit more tamed.
Within the last year, the worldwide web has started to look a little less worldwide. Europe wants limitations on tech companies that violate their laws. Facebook and Australia have recently fought over a proposed law to pay publishers. Experts say big tech is learning they don't have free reign.
“Big Tech at first said ‘you need us more than we need you and we will leave if you make these regulations.’” Cybersecurity expert Steven Weisman with scamicide.com said. “But more and more of the countries are starting to say ‘No, then go.’ Big Tech, particularly Facebook and Google, YouTube, and others are finding that they need to negotiate in order to adhere to the laws of these various countries.”
Weisman says negotiation is not a bad thing. For example, the U.S. government wants to keep a close eye on TikTok and WeChat (which are both owned by Chinese companies), to make sure foreign-based apps aren't spying on Americans.