Technology sausage

Remember the good old days of the 1990s and 2000s, when digital technology was heralded as the dawn of a democratic new age? Every voice would be heard, every wrong would be exposed, and equity and fairness would prevail.

And then what happened? Well, let’s take a look at some recent legal activity. Or rather, illegal activity.

In September, the AI startup Anthropic – which counts Amazon and Google among its major investors - agreed to a US$1.5 billion settlement after it was sued by authors claiming infringement of copyright. That is, piracy. Authors stood to receive $3000 per book, but, as academic Agata Mrva-Montoya wrote, many Aussie authors were likely to miss out. Still, it marked the largest copyright settlement in US history – and it may yet be dwarfed by ongoing copyright lawsuits against OpenAI, Microsoft, Google and Apple.

Then the US Federal Trade Commission notched up an even bigger win. In late September, the FTC secured an eye-watering US$2.5 billion settlement against Amazon for enrolling millions of consumers in Prime subscriptions without their consent, and for knowingly making it difficult for consumers to cancel these subscriptions. The $2.5 billion settlement, which included a $1 billion penalty, and $1.5 billion in refunds to consumers who had been harmed, is bigger than the GDP of our neighbour East Timor. Documents discovered during the trial showed Amazon insiders admitting ''subscription driving is a bit of a shady world''. 

And last month Australia’s competition regulator leapt into the fray, with the ACCC suing Microsoft for misleading millions of Australians into paying for more expensive Microsoft 365 subscriptions. According to the ACCC, Microsoft ''deliberately hid'' a more affordable option to boost sign-ups for its AI offering, Copilot. Microsoft allegedly gave customers two options: pay a higher price for a version of 365 including Copilot; or else give up their subscriptions. But the ACCC says Microsoft did not disclose a third option: if customers chose not to have Copilot, they could keep their current plans at existing prices.

Sadly, ''dark patterns'' abound on the internet, in the form of hidden manipulations that prompt consumers to make choices that they might not otherwise make. The web promised to be democratising; instead it sometimes resembles a shady world. Today the world’s five biggest companies are Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Alphabet and Amazon. They’re big, and getting bigger. Is democracy succumbing to technocracy?

If only we had more ''light patterns'', where nudges prompt users to behave in line with their best interests, and with democracy. That’s something to work towards. For now, the good news is that regulators are mobilising, with some success.

Links:
Streaming announcement by Tony Burke: https://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/burke/media-release/local-content-requirements-streaming-services