Is 2021 The Year Of Big Tech Legislation?

In 2020 the Indian government cracked down on Chinese apps in a big way. In various stages, overall hundreds of apps were banned either generally for the citizens or specifically for soldiers at the border. Two of the most high-profile ones were the immensely popular battle royale game PUBG and teen sensation TikTok. Soon after the US government also cracked down, sealing the rising global ambitions of TikTok

- Sunil Rajguru

The US saw a slew of antitrust cases against the likes of Google and Facebook by multiple states and the US Congress summoned Silicon Valley moguls for questioning. The banning of the then US President Donald trump by many US tech platforms sent alarm bells ringing among many global leaders, for they could also theoretically be banned in the future. The move was condemned by even Trump critics. How these leaders react this year to protect their interests may also be the hot topic of 2021. Russia had slowed down twitter services in the country over non-compliance issues related to the political campaign of Vladimir Putin rival Alexei Navalny.

Australia decided that these giants should pay the mainstream media for the use of their content and prepared legislation accordingly. That was implemented this year with a grace period to the giants to sort out their issues. Earlier Alphabet had threatened to close down its Google search in that country. Facebook had banned users from posting and sharing links from Australian media sites and even added the Australian state Health Departments, emergency services and the Bureau of Meteorology.