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Welcome to the June edition of Neudata Tidbits for data providers.

This month, we assess the future of web-scraped data following key legal decisions in the US, investigate the latest consumer privacy platform updates at Apple and Google that could impact alternative data collection, and discuss the new data security law in China.

WEB-SCRAPING LEGAL UPDATES
The US Supreme Court finally weighed in this month on two cases that impact the future of web-scraped data – Van Buren v. United States and LinkedIn v. hiQ Labs.

Early in the month, the court delivered a decision in Van Buren where it limited the scope of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which web-scraping opponents often tried to use to limit web-scraping activities on their sites.

The court then vacated the Ninth Circuit Court’s decision in LinkedIn v. hiQ Labs and asked the court to issue a new decision in light of the new interpretation of CFAA. Industry experts told Neudata the new ruling could go either way, so vendors should keep an eye out for any changes to the status quo.

PRIVACY IN IOS 15
Apple discussed further changes to its operating system that bolster consumer privacy at its developers conference this month. The changes include an app privacy report, ways to block third parties from using IP addresses to track users across the internet, and the rollout of VPN-like services within Safari, which could harm mobile app vendors that use free VPN apps to collect consumer usage data.

In other ad-tech news, Google has pushed back its plan to fully phase out third-party cookies within its browser from January 2022 to late 2023. Regulators were concerned by the company’s original decision, fearing that the move would further cement Google’s web dominance by removing a tool used by rival online marketers to target ads to consumers. As a result, data vendors have started to partner with first-party firms in a bid to move away from third-party cookies. The two-year delay will give data providers more time to adjust their data-sourcing strategies.

CHINA FINALISES ITS DATA SECURITY LAW
Since 2017, China has been developing a set of regulations to address the protection, storage and processing of different types of data. A series of data protection requirements have already been put into effect — including the Cybersecurity Law (2017) and E-Commerce Law (2019) — and its Data Security Law (DSL) (2021) will be formally implemented on September 1^st 2021.

This law will initially tighten the restrictions on the transfer of data outside of China. Neudata has already observed that two Chinese data vendors are only able to enter contracts with data buyers that have China-registered corporate entities as a result of this new regulation. Data firms that are currently sourcing data from China or have coverage within this region should start reviewing and assessing their data processing activities against the DSL to see if they adhere to the new the regulatory requirements.

WHAT’S NEW IN DATA PROVIDER NEWS?
As more people return to work, location data vendors are measuring commuting patterns and foot traffic levels at popular fast-food restaurants such as Starbucks, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts and Subway during peak travel times as a proxy for office attendance.

PEOPLE MOVES
Make sure you check out our people moves section, which recaps the latest job moves in the alternative data industry. If you want us to recap your new job or latest promotion, get in touch with Sondra at sondra@neudata.co.

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24 Jun: Crux Informatics, Earnest Research, Wejo and more
17 Jun: ADIA, Mintec, 7Park Data and more
10 Jun: Two Sigma, YipitData, Spire Global and more
3 Jun: Fidelity Investments, RIMES, Rakuten and more

Until next time,

Saima & Sondra