Exclusive: ProtonMail creator says attempts to rein in Big Tech 'only tackle 5% of the problem'

Date:
Tue, 03 May 2022 12:00:24 +0000

Description:
The founder of Proton believes proposed legislation does not go far enough to put a real dent in the dominance of Big Tech.

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The founder of Proton, the company behind ProtonMail and ProtonVPN , has critiqued the latest attempts by the EU to rein in the power of Big Tech.

In an exclusive interview with TechRadar Pro , Andy Yen described the
proposed Digital Markets Act (DMA) as a huge benefit to society, but also a missed opportunity.

The EU didnt quite go far enough, and thats a big problem, because this is a once in a generation type of legislation, he said. The power of the default

The DMA is a piece of legislation expected soon to be enshrined in EU law
that seeks to limit the power of so-called technology gatekeepers such as Apple, Meta and Google which stand accused of using their market position
and wealth of resources to squeeze out smaller competitors.

The vice-like grip held by these firms over a range of platforms and product types is said to limit the potential for companies like Proton, which offers privacy-centric email , VPN , cloud storage and calendaring services, to draw large volumes of users away from the US tech giants. Read more

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According to Yen, although the DMA will have a positive effect on the availability of alternative services, the EU made a crucial mistake in
failing to tackle the ability for platform operators to self-preference their own services.

In reality, no matter the breadth of alternatives available, the vast
majority of users will never switch away from the default. In effect, this means companies who compete in the same categories as the largest technology companies are unlikely to make genuine in-roads, no matter the quality of their services.

If antitrust regulation doesnt tackle defaults, it is only addressing 5% of the problem. Thats really the elephant in the room, Yen told us.

[On Android], email is the thing that ties together the entire Google ecosystem, but the DMA doesnt prohibit Google from self-preferencing for Gmail. If you dont tackle that piece, you dont break the monopoly. A new
model for regulators

A significant part of the problem is that regulators are not equipped with
the level of technical expertise necessary to unpick the complexities of the issues at hand, Yen added. And he also believes regulators need to revise the process for defining new legislation, in line with the speed at which the technology industry is developing.

The way legislation used to work is that you would make one giant landmark legislation, then leave it alone for a century. But that old model is not compatible with the world today, which moves so quickly.

We need policymakers to be thinking in a different way, with policies updated every one or two years rather than once in a generation. An iterative and therefore more agile approach is whats needed.

Challenged on whether this kind of approach is feasible, given the number of moving parts and the need for each piece of legislation to be properly ratified, Yen suggested its important to bear in mind the bigger picture.

It shouldnt be a question of feasibility, it should be about whats necessary. Otherwise, your economy will be dominated by just a handful of companies, he said. We have the duty and obligation to legislate properly.

A write-up of TechRadar Pros full conversation with Andy Yen will be published in the coming weeks. Shield your activity from prying eyes with the best privacy apps for Android



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/exclusive-protonmail-creator-says-attempts-to-r ein-in-big-tech-only-tackle-5-of-the-problem/


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