Unicorns and Narwhals
Welcome to the 20th issue of the Digital Policy Salon weekly briefing.
This week has seen several important events in the world of big tech, and we have one eye on investment and the other on regulation in this issue. From Silicon Valley unicorns to our very own “narwhals,” important conversations about acquisitions, anti-trust legislation, FDI, and the status of workers continue amid updates on vaccines and contact tracing.
Our perspective piece from the recent archives provides a timely overview of gig worker protections, now more important than ever as numbers of “flexible” contractors have proliferated during the pandemic. In addition, be sure to check out this week’s installment of ICTC’s tech and human rights series on the history of digital activism and social media-enabled human rights claims.
We’re excited to bring you our featured research, a new report on FDI in Canadian artificial intelligence, as well as timely policy updates and the most up-to-date tech news. Thank you, as always, for joining us for this week’s issue.
- Faun, Khiran, and Tyler
COVID-19 Policy Updates 🇨🇦
Ottawa signs procurement deal for potential COVID-19 vaccines
Public Services and Procurement Minister Anita Anand announced yesterday that Canada has signed a deal with pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna to procure millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccine candidates in 2021. Once procured, vaccines will require Health Canada approval prior to rollout. Both Minister Anand and Dr. Theresa Tam emphasized the need for continued public health measures in addition to vaccine trials.
Canadian Government sets aside $3.3B for pandemic-related infrastructure projects
Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna announced yesterday a new COVID-19 “resilience” stream, a $3.3-billion fund for pandemic-related projects such as infrastructure upgrades for improved health and safety, as well as active transport infrastructure.
Tech companies see 25% drop in funding during pandemic
An analysis by the Narwhal Project found a 25% drop in funding for Canadian private-sector tech companies since the onset of COVID-19, compared to the same period last year.
Federal government-sponsored exposure notification app sees 1.1 million downloads in its first four days live
COVID Alert, the federal exposure notification app, was downloaded 1.1 million times in the four days following its Friday launch, according to the Canadian Digital Service, which developed the app.
Microsoft, US Government discuss American company’s purchase of TikTok
On Monday, US President Donald Trump set September 15 as the deadline for TikTok to find a U.S. buyer, failing which he said he would shut down the app in the U.S. Microsoft is currently pursuing acquisition of TikTok from ByteDance subject to a complete security review and ongoing conversations with the US government.
American Congress holds Anti-Trust Hearings for Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google
CEOs Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Tim Cook (Apple), and Sundar Pichai (Google) testified before the US congress last week on the relevance of antitrust legislation to big tech.
Our Perspective
Regulating Flexibility and Other 21st Century Problems
Originally published December 5, 2019
In recent years, there has been significant growth and interest in the ‘gig economy,’ built upon the premise of digital platforms that connect customers with workers. New business models, characterized by smartphone apps and on-demand labour, have disrupted existing industries (like Uber and taxis) and created new ways to fulfill labour needs for companies and individuals.
While the gig economy has resonated with customers and workers (often appreciative of the opportunity for remote or flexible work opportunities to fit their schedules), there have also been concerns around the classification of these workers. In some cases, participants of the gig economy readily offer their services as freelancers or consultants, but in other cases, the classification of “freelancer” is not as clear cut. Lately, there has been a rise in criticism suggesting gig-economy companies are misclassifying workers who should, in fact, be considered employees and provided appropriate benefits as opposed to consultants.
Digital platforms of the gig economy may have originally been intended to offer part-time work flexibility, but in some cases, participants essentially work full-time on the platforms. The limited power of individual participants has led to efforts around establishing a gig worker bill of rights, labour protections, or even unionization options.
Interviews in the Field
#HumanRights: A Brief History of Digital Activism
By Faun Rice & Kiera Schuller | email
On May 11, 2020, the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC) spoke with Professor Ronald Niezen, the Katharine A. Pearson Chair in Civil Society and Public Policy in the Faculty of Law and Department of Anthropology at McGill University. Professor Niezen was appointed as the William Lyon Mackenzie King Chair for Canadian Studies at Harvard University for 2018–2019. An anthropologist with wide-ranging experience, Professor Niezen researches and teaches in the areas of political and legal anthropology, Indigenous peoples, and human rights. Prior to McGill, he taught for nine years at Harvard University and has held visiting positions in the Department of History at the University of Winnipeg and the Institute for Human Rights at Åbo Akademi University in Finland. You can find out more about his research, work, and new book here.
Kiera:
As a legal anthropologist, what is your perspective on the efforts by legal institutions to mitigate negative social impacts of technology (e.g. Europe’s GDPR)? In particular, in light of tracking during COVID, do you think laws are going to be effective tools to mitigate harmful uses of technology later?
Dr. Niezen:
This is a hard question. I haven’t written about it as much, but I can answer in another way. There’s a great video of San Francisco in 1906 where a trolley-car is going down a major street full of mayhem. There are horse-drawn carriages, cars, and pedestrians all weaving in and out because there are no traffic signals anywhere: traffic lights hadn’t been invented yet. It was only in the 1920s after cars became more powerful that traffic signals were installed to regulate and direct the flow of traffic.
I believe we are at an analogous stage with new technologies today. To date, there has been no will to regulate these new technologies. Instead, there has been sharp resistance to regulating them. But one key difference between 1906 and now is that back then, the creators of technology — the automobile manufacturers — had no problem with traffic regulations because that didn’t mean they were going to sell fewer cars. In fact, the regulation was good for them, keeping customers safe. Regulation now, in contrast, is a scary thing for big tech corporations because it means an erosion of their access to data, which is their driving force, the data that gives them a vision into our private lives and has enabled the enormous revenues that they’ve generated, mostly through targeted advertising. They are putting up a fight, but I think the only way to move forward and create protections against the worst kind of abuses of our data has to do with regulation of our data and what people are able to do with it. We are seeing the beginnings of this now.
Read the full interview here 🎙
What We’re Reading
Bill English: Computer mouse co-creator dies at 91
(BBC News)
Bill English was the first person to use a computer mouse, building the first prototype in 1963. It would only become commonplace two decades later, when personal home computers became popular.
Talking points:
Though it may be difficult to believe, the computer mouse did not simply appear out of thin air, next to the early computer, steadfastly waiting to guide the cursor across screen with the easy flick of a wrist. Instead, it was developed by the work of two early computing engineers. William English, co-creator of the computer mouse, has died, but his immensely useful invention lives on. - Khiran O’Neill | email
The Big Tech Hearing
(The New York Times)
The C.E.O.s of America’s most influential technology companies — Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook — were brought before Congress to answer a question: Are they too powerful?
Talking points:
“Gatekeepers” and “chokepoints on the internet” is how New York Times reporter Ceclia Kang describes Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon: the USA’s biggest tech companies. Not too long ago these would more accurately have been described as a social network, a search engine, a computer manufacturer, and an online retailer; innovative American tech companies demonstrating the potential of a new age. Now, they testify in front of congress, and this podcast likens the big tech hearings to tobacco industry congressional hearings of 1994. These hearings — where questions are posed by American lawmakers to CEOs of American companies — demonstrate the enormous complexity of regulating tech that has permeated all aspects of life, on a global scale. - Khiran O’Neill | email
Research Visualized
As early as the 1990s, businesses began to search for new methods of driving economic output and driving down costs through digital technologies. Companies had always hired contractors or temporary workers to fill demand in peak business times or provide support based on seasonal need. Outsourcing and offshoring were the subsequent steps in this process. These practices frequently entail the need to substantially restructure internal business activities and even transfer staff from a home to host country.
Growth in digital technology and improved connectivity have allowed more businesses to outsource certain roles or projects to jurisdictions around the world.
The most common reason for outsourcing is usually to reduce operational costs (without sacrificing quality).
In 2019, India topped the list of global outsource locations for software development. With a strong supply of skilled tech talent, the average hourly rate for a software developer in India is about $15/hr, making it an attractive destination for outsourcing. Other competitors for digital gigs include Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, and China, all with hourly rates between $20–50. Beyond that, Eastern Europe — Ukraine, Romania, Poland, etc. — offer average hourly rates between $30–75. This compares with hourly wages for contract software developers in the US at $80–200, depending on experience.
Our Research
Betting on Red and White: International Investment in Canadian AI
Canada is considered an attractive destination for Artificial Intelligence (AI) investment by some of the world’s top business leaders because of its highly skilled talent base, strong AI-education offerings, and an immigration policy that attracts skilled mid- and senior-level AI talent for critical roles. ICTC’s new study, Betting on Red and White: International Investment in Canadian AI, examines Canada’s opportunities for leveraging these strengths in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to attract high-quality foreign direct investment (FDI), supported by primary research.
Betting on Red and White: International Investment in Canadian AI assesses recent domestic and international AI developments and explores AI applications across sectors such as digital technology, agriculture, and life sciences. Key informant interviews with industry leaders from over eight countries and seven sector verticals provide insight on core business needs filled by AI and the country’s desirability as a destination for AI-based investment.
“There has never been a better time to unlock the full potential of AI applications across all industry verticals. Asserting Canada’s leadership in this space will reap strong economic gains at a time when this technology is seen as a critical enabler for advancing the course of industrialization around the world.” — Namir Anani, ICTC President & CEO
The study also explores the following:
- Canadian AI research and commercialization;
- Opportunities and barriers to continued AI expansion; and
- A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis of Canada’s AI-based FDI-attraction strategy.
Twitter Highlights
Talk to Us 💬
Send your comments, questions, and tech policy insights to:
- Tyler Farmer 🚀 t.farmer@ictc-ctic.ca
- Faun Rice 🦌 f.rice@ictc-ctic.ca
