{"id":78855,"date":"2022-09-11T17:34:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-11T21:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=78855"},"modified":"2022-09-15T11:04:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T15:04:11","slug":"privacy-advocates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/privacy-advocates\/","title":{"rendered":"How Privacy Advocates Are Battling Big Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are the purpose and mission of privacy advocates? Why are they chiefly concerned with big tech companies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In The Age of Surveillance Capitalism<\/a><\/em>, Shoshana Zuboff explores the concept of \u201csurveillance capitalism\u201d\u2014a term she created to describe the invasive and controlling data collection practices of tech giants. She warns of the potentially disastrous outcomes for our society if we don\u2019t advocate for change in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn how Zuboff says privacy advocates are fighting back against surveillance capitalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Privacy Advocates Fight Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Author Shoshana Zuboff argues that although Google and other companies have been overwhelmingly successful at avoiding and preventing any sort of regulations that would curb their surveillance capitalism practices, this hasn\u2019t prevented privacy advocates and governments from trying to fight back.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in 2011, 90 Spanish privacy advocates submitted claims demanding that Google give them the right to have their private information removed from its site. The claims included desires to stay hidden from abusive partners and forget old arrests. The \u201cright to be forgotten<\/strong>\u201d became a fundamental principle of EU law in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, in 2018, the EU adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which forces companies to modify their data activities according to certain regulations. For example, companies are prohibited from making personal information public by default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, privacy advocates, artists, and inventors have created ways to avoid the prying practices of surveillance capitalism. This includes signal-blocking phone cases to help protestors hide their location by eliminating all wireless communication.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Shortform note: You, too, can work to combat the practices of surveillance capitalism thanks to an inventor who developed a way to make signal-blocking phone pouches at home<\/a>. The design requires materials that can be purchased online, as well as some light sewing.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opposing Viewpoints<\/a>: The EU and US\u2019s Take on Surveillance Capitalism <\/strong>

Zuboff cites two examples of laws that the European Union has used to fight back against surveillance capitalism. But what action has been taken in the United States, where core companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon are based, and how does that impact the actions of the EU?

With regards to privacy advocates’ \u201cright to be forgotten\u201d principle, the US opposes the EU. From the US\u2019s perspective, the right to be forgotten violates the First Amendment right to free speech<\/a> because companies have a right to publish whatever information they want online, even if that information reveals undesirable truths about individuals. In addition, in 2018, the US Congress enacted the US CLOUD Act, overruling the GDPR before it could be enforced<\/a>.

With the US at the heart of surveillance capitalism, is it possible for the EU and other countries to drive meaningful change without American support? Thus far, it seems unlikely. For example, as previously mentioned, the US CLOUD Act overrules the GDPR. That means that US-based companies can and must allow government access to all stored data, including data stored by EU servers. In other words, the GDPR is rendered useless in the US\u2014a likely outcome for any legislation regarding foreign data.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What We Can Do to Stop Surveillance Capitalism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Despite these efforts, privacy advocates haven\u2019t been able to drive change fundamental enough to end surveillance capitalism. Zuboff insists that to defeat it, society must undergo a series of mindset shifts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n