From Google News Uber: when the law takes innovation It has been a week full of tech news that reached the front pages of the mainstream media. Still shocked by the arrests of managers and PeliculasPepito SeriesPepito last week, the first victims of the new Copyright Act, on Tuesday came the order of interim cease activities Uber in Spain and, on Thursday, the most shocking news : Google News Google announced it would close in Spain. All these news, besides the fact of being related to technology, have another thing in common: they are the result of the clash between how the Internet works and new collaborative economies and legislation determined to stay behind. The most flagrant case is that of Google News. Under the new LPI, news aggregators sites will pay to the Association of Spanish Newspaper Publishers (AEDE) a compensatory canon. Nothing here much sense: not a law pushed by the AEDE own association that is benefiting from these aggregators news sites like Google News or Digg (which include only an excerpt and a link to the original page), or back request Association to the Government to make Google News again. Because, actually, in Google News only one is if you want (you have to make a request) and all those who complained that the company reproduced part of its contents seemed to forget all traffic received from them. It seems that the intended effect was to follow in Google News, yes, but also get extra money never hurts. Google has decided to close in Spain the news section is no surprise, moreover: the giant search engine has no benefits for this part of your business, so do not leave it hurts too much if there are problems. Vs collaborative traditional economy In the other two cases, those of SeriesPepito and Uber, it is easier to see the other side of the argument. Although we are all accustomed to unburden or watch online series for free, we are aware that is protected by copyright laws and which in principle is not legal content (although managers SeriesPepito were stopped by adding links , not because they who climbed the content, direct effect of the new LPI). Same with Uber and the damage that ensures the union of taxi drivers who are doing them, if those new drivers insurance do not pay taxes, it is a clear unfair competition. And the same with Airbnb and other such new alternative services that are growing like mushrooms. Although here at the moment there is no prohibition and only an interim cease Uber to study the situation, the root problem is the same: a reality that goes in one direction and legislation that goes in another. For companies collaborative economy is the best example of this. Faced with traditional services (taxis, hotels, television) that for whatever reason are not as attractive (for its price, what they offer, etc.), citizens organized to offer each other the service they actually do seek . Then, of course, companies that manage movement that emerged from citizens and, incidentally, part takes the cake appear. All this actually goes faster than the laws (which are always slowly), and new companies are in loopholes or directly in violation of any rules, anyway, everyone considered obsolete. And instead of adapting to the new times, new laws take the conservative route, that of protecting the traditional sector, instead of seeking solutions that everyone can live with. The answer given time. We follow within a year without Google News, Airbnb is prohibited, we will not see foreign series the next day they leave their country of origin? Possibly not. If the law does not fit, technology, innovation and citizens continue to find these cracks that sneak.
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 13:01:37 +0000
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