Cuti manages changes in the draft regulation of computer applications

12/04/16

The draft law on the regulation of computer applications, in its attempt to offer a response to transport companies in the face of the arrival of Uber, establishes obstacles that discourage the arrival of new investors in the sector.

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In recent weeks, the Executive Branch sent to Parliament the draft law regulating computer applications, which in its attempt to provide an answer to transport companies in the face of the arrival of Uber, establishes obstacles that discourage the arrival of new investors in the sector.

Faced with this situation, the Uruguayan Chamber of Information Technology (Cuti) took immediate action to achieve changes in the law, which is currently being studied by the Committee on Science and Technology of the Chamber of Deputies. In this regard, the president of the Chamber, Carlos Caetano, together with authorities of the Chamber of the Digital Economy of Uruguay (Cedu), met with government and opposition authorities.

In recent weeks, the position of both Chambers was presented to the Secretary of the Presidency of the Republic, Miguel Angel Toma, one of the drafters of the project, as well as to several ministers and legislators of the political parties with parliamentary representation. In all the meetings, the legal inconsistencies of the proposal were alerted, indicating also the inconvenience of its application, which limits the development of the industry.

One of the main objections planned lies in the breadth of the rule, which establishes for companies that develop software applications the same degree of responsibility as that which corresponds to companies that sell their goods or services through these platforms.

Also questioned is the power granted to the Central Bank to block the bank accounts of alleged offenders, upon the mere suspicion raised by any public oversight body, since it is a punitive measure, taken prior to judicial proceedings to prove the existence of a crime.

In the coming weeks, Cuti's representatives hope to be received by the parliamentary commission studying the issue to recommend that the bill not be voted on as presented by the Executive Branch, since its legal and drafting inconsistencies conflict with the rights enshrined in the Constitution of the Republic.