Aurelia Butler

Instagram plans to appeal against the fine, a spokesperson for parent Meta Platforms Inc said in an emailed statement.The investigation, which started in 2020, focused on child users between the ages of 13 and 17 who were allowed to operate business accounts, which facilitated the publication of the user’s phone number and/or email address. “We adopted our final decision last Friday and it does contain a fine of 405 million euro,” said the spokesperson for Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), the lead regulator of Instagram’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. Full details of the decision will be published next week, he said. Instagram updated its settings over a year ago and has since released new features to keep teens safe and their information private, the Meta spokesperson said.The spokesperson said Instagram disagrees with how the fine was calculated and is carefully reviewing the decision. The DPC regulates Facebook (NASDAQ:META), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and other technology giants due to the location of their EU headquarters in Ireland. It has opened over a dozen investigations into Meta companies, including Facebook and WhatsApp. WhatsApp was last year fined a record 225 million euros for failing to conform with EU data rules in 2018.The Irish regulator completed a draft ruling in the Instagram investigation in December and shared it with other European Union regulators under the bloc’s “one stop shop” system of regulating large multinationals.($1 = 1.0082 euros) More

(Reuters) -A U.S. labor board on Tuesday moved to make it easier for workers and unions to hold companies liable for labor law violations by their franchisees and contractors, proposing to revive an Obama-era standard heavily criticized by trade groups.The proposed rule from the National Labor Relations Board would treat companies as so-called “joint employers” when they have indirect control over working conditions such as scheduling, hiring and firing, and supervision.Joint employment has been one of the most contentious labor issues for many U.S. businesses since the Obama administration, when the NLRB had adopted a similar standard that trade groups said was unworkable and would curb franchising. A rule adopted during the Trump administration requires that companies have “direct and immediate” control over contract and franchise workers in order to be considered joint employers. Tuesday’s proposal would rescind that 2020 rule, which was favored by business groups. The new proposal would broadly affect industries such as manufacturing and construction that rely heavily on staffing agencies and contractors to provide workers, and franchises such as McDonald’s Corp (NYSE:MCD) that are not typically involved in franchisees’ day-to-day workplace issues. The NLRB will formally publish the proposal on Wednesday, starting a 60-day public comment period. A final rule will likely be adopted next year.NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran, a Democrat, said in a statement that the proposed rule was necessary to safeguard workers’ rights to collectively bargain as employment relationships become increasingly complex. A company that is found to be a joint employer would likely be forced to become more involved in setting and implementing workplace policies, and could be required to bargain with unions. That would further complicate collective bargaining, making it more difficult for unions to negotiate contracts with businesses and undermining the NLRB’s stated goal of strengthening workers’ rights, said Glenn Spencer, a senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the country’s largest business lobby.Spencer in an interview said he expected legal challenges to the rule once it is finalized.The rule, if enacted, would significantly restrict the freedom of many small business owners, said Elizabeth Milto, the acting executive director of the legal arm of the National Federation of Independent Business, a lobbying group. “This decision could have the effect of taking away employment decisions from small independent franchisees and putting those decisions into the hands of large corporations,” Milto said. More

By Marc Jones and Uditha JayasingheLONDON/COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s International Monetary Fund bailout plan could be a turning point in its worst economic crisis, but far-from-stable politics and a need to get debt relief from competing powers China, India and Japan means some of the hardest work is still to come. President Ranil Wickremesinghe knows a lot of circles will need to be squared for IMF’s $2.9 billion lifeline to become a reality.Spending cuts, tax hikes and debt write-downs are a common formula for bankrupt countries, but crisis veterans say there are some uniquely difficult elements here.An impoverished population that forced former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee in July still needs to accept Wickremesinghe, seen by many as of the same political ilk and a man who faces a bristling opposition.The country’s borrowings are so complex that estimates of the total range anywhere from $85 billion to well over $100 billion. To get it to a sustainable level Beijing, New Delhi, Tokyo, multilaterals and global asset managers must all swallow losses.”This one of the biggest messes I’ve ever seen,” said Renaissance Capital’s chief economist Charles Robertson who has watched emerging market crises unfold for decades. “The government destroyed its revenue base with unsustainable tax cuts, it tried to hold the currency when tourism revenues collapsed and now it has no reserves in the bank and a population facing widespread poverty.”Estimates from the United Nations say the crisis has left more than a quarter of Sri Lanka’s 22 million population struggling to secure adequate, nutritious food.The IMF’s 4-year rescues plan provisionally agreed last week demands serious fiscal repair work and more autonomy for the central bank, which was ordered to frantically print money under Rajapaksa.To hit the IMF’s target of lifting its primary budget surplus to 2.4% by 2025, Sri Lanka would get its economy growing by around 6%, something not achieved for about five years. This year it expected to contract at least 8%. COURTING ASIA’S HEAVYWEIGHTS Just as challenging, the IMF wants Colombo to secure “financing assurances” – Fund speak for debt relief and new loans – from regional heavyweights China, Japan and India who have long jostled for influence. The World Bank estimates Beijing’s lending, which has funded costly projects from ports to stadium, adds up to $7 billion, or 12% of Sri Lanka’s $63 billion external debt. Japan has provided another $3.5 billion while India has given around $1 billion.Without the “assurances” from those countries, the Fund’s money cannot flow, IMF Mission Chief Peter Breuer stressed.”Finding creative ways to have a collaborative platform to advance these debt restructuring discussions is very useful,” Breuer told Reuters. “How debt relief is distributed amongst creditors…that is something we don’t insert ourselves into.” UNCOMMON FRAMEWORK?The crisis has culminated in Sri Lanka’s starkest crisis and first debt default since independence from Britain in 1948. The rupee almost halved in value since the central bank abandoned its peg in March, basic goods have become scarce and inflation is now running at 64%.Economists say the restructuring could have been far simpler if the country had been part of the G20 “Common Framework” plan – a programme set up at the height of COVID-19 to help debt-crippled countries. At the time, Sri Lanka was classified as a middle-income country and did not qualify.China automatically provides debt relief alongside “Paris Club” countries and private sector creditors under that arrangement. Colombo’s absence from the setup means an alternative is needed.Step up Japan – which is now pushing for China, India and others to join talks. Beijing, which did not respond to a request for comment, has not yet signalled if it will, although there are hopes its lead role in Zambia’s restructuring may encourage it to do so. India has not commented so far.Pessimists worry though that if China doesn’t take a writedown others won’t either, including global asset managers who hold nearly $20 billion of Sri Lanka’s international bonds.”China is the largest creditor country. Without its participation, any scheme won’t succeed,” a Japanese government official who requested anonymity said. DOOM LOOPAnother problem is what to do about the country’s $50.5 billion of “local” debt mostly dominated in rupee and largely held as capital by commercial banks and local pension funds.Sanjeewa Fernando, Head of Research at CT CLSA Securities said it won’t be a straightforward decision, especially with elections looming in 2024. “From a realistic point of view, banks are preparing for a 40% haircut (on Sri Lanka’s international bonds and ‘development’ bonds which are also dominated in dollars) as a base case scenario,” he said.Even that might not be enough though, given the IMF wants the debt-to-GDP ratio slashed to under 100% from 140% currently.That would put domestic debt in play but David Beers, a Senior Fellow at the New York-based Center for Financial Stability who has compiled a global database of sovereign defaults said there are always tradeoffs. “If the domestic debt is predominately held by domestic banks and you get haircuts, then that eats into their capital,” he said, adding that they might then require bailouts which add to the government’s costs again. (This story has been refiled to correct paragraph 30 to show Center for Financial Stability is based in New York, not London) More

As evidenced by another decline on Wall Street, the dollar climbing to a fresh 20-year high, and a sharp sell-off in UK government debt, the squeeze on global markets and investor confidence around the world shows little sign of easing.This is likely to subdue Asian markets early on Wednesday, particularly tech stocks – the Nasdaq fell for a seventh straight session on Tuesday, its longest losing streak since 2016. It is also the backdrop against which investors will receive a batch of key Chinese economic indicators and second quarter GDP figures from Australia.Beijing is expected to report slowing import and export growth in August, leading to a narrower trade surplus of $92.7 billion. The country’s stash of FX reserves is also expected to decline in the month to $3.079 trillion.The health of China’s economy is a concern for Beijing – and increasingly, the world. The yuan hit at a two-year low on Tuesday close to 7.00 per dollar, and the PBOC said it would cut the amount of FX reserves that financial institutions must hold, the latest measure aimed at slowing the yuan’s decline. The Asian FX spotlight is shining even more brightly on the Japanese yen, which has sunk to a fresh 24-year low of 143.00 per dollar. A test of 150.00 appears likely as U.S.-Japanese yield spreads widen, and dollar/yen is eyeing its best year since the era of free-floating exchange rates began in 1971.Economists expect Australia’s economic growth accelerated in the second quarter, and a decent 3% fall in oil prices on Tuesday could help soothe sentiment. But not much.Key developments that should provide more direction to markets on Wednesday: China trade, current account (Aug)China FX reserves (Aug)Japan FX reserves (Aug)Australia GDP (Q2) More