Google, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Facebook all breathlessly insist that they support consumer privacy. Several of them have even stated that they support new privacy legislation. But this collection of companies and one time adversaries have increasingly joined forced to try and stop any meaningful privacy protections from actually taking root. One such recent example is in California, where the companies have been collectively lying to lawmakers in an effort to scuttle some fairly reasonable privacy safeguards being proposed in the state.
California's
proposal closely mirrored the FCC privacy rules ISPs and Silicon Valley companies lobbied the GOP and Trump administration to
kill last year.
Both proposals simply required that companies be transparent about what private data is collected and sold, while requiring that companies provide working opt out tools (opt in, if sensitive financial data is to be shared). But Google, Facebook, AT&T and Comcast lobbyists repeatedly lied to California lawmakers, claiming that even these modest solutions would somehow harm children, damage internet security, and even "embolden extremists." Absolutely none of it was true, notes the EFF.
"One of the most offensive aspects of the misinformation campaign was the claim that pretending to restore our privacy rights, which have been on the books for communications providers for years, would help extremism," notes the group. "In addition to national security scaremongering, the industry (circulated this document) that attempted to play off fears emerging from the recent Charlottesville attack by white supremacists."
With Facebook trying to improve its image in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the company this week quietly stated it would be withdrawing from opposing California's privacy initiatives, the latest incarnation of which should show up on state ballots this November.
Facebook's retreat was first reported by San Fransisco CBS affiliate KPIX 5.
"We're gratified that Facebook has dropped its opposition to the California Consumer Privacy Act. Now that they have seen the error of their ways, we hope they will work with us proactively to protect the personal information of all Californians, and support us publicly and financially," said initiative proponent Alastair Mactaggart.
"Google, AT&T, Verizon & Comcast: if you are not selling our personal information, why are you spending a million dollars to oppose us?" |
The group was quick to highlight that Facebook was alone in its withdrawal of opposition.
"Google, AT&T, Verizon & Comcast: if you are not selling our personal information, why are you spending a million dollars to oppose us?" Mactaggart inquired. "Voters overwhelmingly support this measure, and protecting consumers is not only a good business decision, but the right thing to do. It's time to stop business as usual and to step up and do the right thing."
Knowing their positions are unpopular, AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Google don't much like to publicly talk about said opposition. After all, it's hard for them to acknowledge that they see informed, empowered customers as a problem, given they're more likely to opt out of private data monetization schemes, costing them money in the process.
That said, while this week's grilling of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg may not result in tangible action by a notably-cash-compromised Congress, it did at least shine a spotlight on Facebook (and the broadband industry's) often phony support of genuine consumer privacy protections in general, and their ugly behavior in California in particular.