Neema Singh Guliani points out that just because Silicon Valley companies are suddenly pushing for privacy laws after all of these years, that doesn’t mean they have our best interests in mind.
After years of claiming they could self-regulate, the tech industry is suddenly receptive to the idea of federal privacy legislation. But don’t let this post-Cambridge Analytica “mea culpa” fool you into believing these companies have consumers’ best interests in mind. Far from it.
This seeming willingness to subject themselves to federal regulation is, in fact, an effort to enlist the Trump administration and Congress in companies’ efforts to weaken state-level consumer privacy protections.
Check It Out: Silicon Valley is Suddenly Pushing Privacy Laws. Don’t Believe It.
Here’s how it works, and you can see it in the current App Store enquires. Politicians identify an underperforming source of revenue – big tech could afford to donate more to campaigns. Politicians put pressure on big tech by enquiring into its business practices, and in return those companies get to write the legislation… for a fee. Win, win. Not for the public, though.
What you’re seeing here is the counteroffer from big tech.