Big Regulatory Changes In Store For The Internet

In the next ten years there will be significant changes to the Internet as governments in both the US and the European Union introduce significant regulations  in response to the tremendous advances in areas like  3D printing, autonomous vehicles,  electric cars, drones, robotics, virtual reality and online gaming. 

Other fast emerging technology sectors include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) and Automation technologies.

Blockchain, space exploration, asteroid mining and renewable energy are all attracting the attention of legislators interested in preventing market monopolies and promotion transparency.  

Regulators on both continents are formulating similar laws. 

• In the US, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust has just released a landmark report on Competition In Digital Markets which is expected result in limits being placed on the Big Tech firms market dominance.

• The European Commission is in the process of drafting an EU Digital Services Act (“DSA”) to promote competition and innovation in digital markets, intended to curtail the US Big Tech companies.

Many industry analysts worry that widely-used technologies like the big social media platforms have the effect of weakening  core aspects of democracy and democratic representation. They also foresee significant social innovation between now and 2030 to try to address emerging issues.

The way the Internet will look and work in 2030 will be quite different, not least due to changing demographics.

The global population is expected to reach 8.5 billion people by 2030 and  India will overtake China as the most populated country. The fastest-growing demographic segment will be the over 65 age group, who will number over a billion by 2030.

Although the US and EU regulations are still only at the proposal stage, the large technology companies like Facebook, Amazon, Google and others will  likely broken up into smaller units, possibly along geographic lines in the EU, whereas in the US legislators have  recommended stopping large internet platforms from operating at different levels of the distribution chain. 

The existing Big Tech firms will have to break up into their constituent parts.

• Facebook might have to divest WhatsApp and Instagram 

• Google might have to divest its Android software business

•  Amazon might have to split its retail platform from its booming  cloud computing business.

The regulatory barriers to entry that legislators are preparing to introduce will be much higher than they are today and businesses and other organisations will have to learn to navigate a web of regulation imposed to enforce market  rules in an ever-changing and complex technological environment. 

CapX:       Gizmodo:        Medium:   Pew Research:

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