Tech Industry And US Squabble Over Social Media
Over the past few years, Americans and American tech companies have grown very concerned over the state of privacy within the country. These people and groups have become concerned that the government is decreasing the privacy of citizens, without just cause. This has caused tech companies to lash out at the government and has even initiated a lawsuit or two along the way. In early 2016, the United States Department of Justice filed a suit against Apple for failing to unlock a potential terrorist's iPhone. The two went to court and fought it out for an extensive period of time, before the case was finally settled, after the FBI managed to unlock the phone without Apple's assistance.
Although the subject died down for a few weeks, several other major headlines have pushed privacy back into the spotlight. It was announced earlier this week that the Department of Homeland Security would begin forcing United States visitors to provide access to their social media accounts, before being allowed to enter the country. This has sparked a backlash from some of the country's top tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Twitter. The DHS insists the move would help to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country and comes after the horrific massacre in Florida and another one in San Bernardino, California.
Nonetheless, Silicon Valley tech companies have objected to such measures. These groups insist that the move would have a chilling effect on social media and would greatly reduce free speech online. The technological companies have also complained that the move could very well encourage other countries to follow in suit. The DHS plans to add a line inquiring about the visitor's social media to their Electronic System for Travel Authorization application. This would be a requirement for anyone and if approved, the visitor would be given the right to remain within the country for up to 90 days. However, those traveling to the country under the Visa Waiver Program would be allowed to bypass this measure.
According to A-1 Auto Transport Inc. car shipping company, the new measure would have no impact on their services. Meanwhile, it has been disclosed that Comcast would like to charge certain customers extra. The company has received backlash online, after it was disclosed that they would like to charge customers, who prefer additional privacy, more than those that will be willing to give up their privacy. For those that pay the extra fee, Comcast would withhold the user's browsing history and refrain from selling it to advertisers. Those that are happy to pass along their information would pay less.
In 2013, AT&T did something similar. The company implemented a $29 per month charge for agreeing to keep the user's browsing habits a secret. Both companies have been lobbying the FCC to try and enabled such measures. ISP companies, such as Comcast and AT&T make a large quantity of their revenue by selling user's information. If the FCC were able to prevent that from happening, these companies would be hit substantially hard. Only time will tell if the FCC sides with the consumers or the lobbyists.
