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Apple, Amazon, AT & T, Google and Twitter sent privacy representatives to the Senate on Wednesday to discuss how their companies are treating user privacy.
According to Washington PostThe Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation meets with privacy officers from each of the five companies.
"Americans have a hard time understanding what is collected and how it is used," said Senator John Thune, chair of the committee, according to Washington Post. "We are holding this hearing to help inform consumers and determine where the federal government may need to stand."
This is not the first time this year that the Senate has burned technology companies. In April, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have faced questions at a congressional hearing following the whistleblowing on Cambridge Analytica. In March, the New York Times reported Facebook has allowed the company to siphon data on social network users who have agreed to answer the Cambridge Analytica personality questionnaire. Those who agreed to answer the quiz had private information extracted from their user profiles. The friends of the quiz takers got their information too. According to Facebook, it was not a data breach – "everyone involved gave their consent," company position Lily.
Sure September 5thTwitter chief executive Jack Dorsey and operations director Facebook Sheryl Sandberg traveled to Washington to discuss the spread of false news and censorship on their platforms for the Senate Intelligence Committee. Since the 2016 presidential election, it has become clear that both platforms have been plagued by fake accounts spreading false news in an effort to influence votes (some sources say that, despite the frequency of false news, it may not have changed people's votes).
Editor's note: We will update this position as each technology company meets with the committee.
On Wednesday, Google promised to support the Honest Ads Act, which requires technology companies to be transparent about the origins of an advertisement, especially online political ads. The act was sparked by news that the Russians have bought advertisements that ran on Facebook and other social media platforms, CBS News reported.
Keith Enright, Google's privacy officer, also spoke about the latest news about the search engine plans. develop a product specifically for users in China.
"I understand that we are not about to launch a product in China," Enright told the committee. "We do not know where we can in the future."
Google on privacy: In September, the Senate scolded Google not to send co-founder Larry Page to the September 5 hearing as requested. Beside Twitter, Dorsey and Sandberg of Facebook was a free seat for Google when they visit the Senate in September.
Google has avoided much of the shock that Facebook has suffered from Cambridge Analytica, even though both companies are responsible for collecting a large amount of user personal data and converting it into advertising dollars. In 2017, Google made $ 27.2 billion in advertising revenue while Facebook made $ 39.9 billion in advertising revenue.
The company may have to answer questions concerning several infringements with regard to the violation of users' privacy. Recently, Google was caught tracking user locations even if these users have asked not to do it on the Google site. This follows a problem in Amazon's Google Echo competitor, Google Home, discovered save more sound than he should. In July, the the Wall Street newspaper indicated how third-party companies could access your private Gmail inbox through applications and add-ons. Although it is not Google's fault: the messaging standard was not designed in complete privacy.
These three instances all took place in 2018. Prior to 2018, Google was involved in more than 30 different privacy scandals, from Google followed Apple device users secretly on Google follow the location Android device owners even when they have chosen not to track location in their device settings. Most recently, the latest version of Google Chrome, Chrome 69, automatically connected users in the browser with their Google login information (previously an optional feature). experts worried on the browser data that the company has to upload to its servers and associate them with the users' names via this feature.
In anticipation of the Senate hearing, Google released a document entitled Framework for Responsible Data Protection, available in PDF format right here. In the three-page document, the company exposes its relationship with user information. It is likely that Keith Enright, the newly appointed Chief Privacy Officer, will reference this document and more on Wednesday.
Twitter's Global Head of Data Protection and Associate General Counsel Damien Kieran have seen joke returns similar to those of Google in terms of advertising and complex privacy agreements. Kieran reminded the panel that Twitter has taken steps to make their terms of service more understandable.
"We've been working on animations, graphics and pop-ups for users," said Kieran. "We want people to understand what we do with their data."
In response to Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's question about whether all businesses could accept greater privacy, Kieran proposed an instance that illustrates the difficult balance between user privacy and ease of use.
"When someone accesses Twitter for the first time, we look at their IP address to put the site in their language." Increased privacy by default could eliminate this feature.
Twitter on privacy: Dorsey has already explained to officials about September 5th. The CEO responded to questions about misinformation on Twitter and freedom of expression, but few questions related to user privacy. While Twitter has not received much of the heat that companies have had to face in terms of privacy protection, the microblogging platform has sold some data to Cambridge Analytica also.
In the light of the EU's general regulation on data protection, Twitter, like many other Updated version their privacy policy. Nevertheless, we can expect Twitter to answer tough questions in front of the American people on Wednesday.
Apple
Guy Tribble, vice president of software technology at Apple, said Wednesday that a single solution for privacy protection was unreasonable.
"There is no quick fix," said Tribble. "Even data that has been dissociated from a person can later be associated with that person." However, he said companies can get to know their user base without transmitting sensitive or identifiable information. He used an example of a company that wants to know how much money is in each user's pocket.
"You could add 100 to everyone's value," said Tribble. "You can always determine an average but do not give you specific information about a person."
Apple on privacy: Apple's messaging service, iMessage, is encrypted by default and unlike Google or Facebook, do not take advantage to use your personal information to tell advertisers how they should target you. Its update to Mac OS, Mojave, includes protections Thus, the buttons "I love" social media do not follow users anywhere on the web. When MSNBC asked In March, Apple CEO Tim Cook did what he would do if he was in the shoes of Zuckerberg during Cambridge Analytica – Cook said, "I would not be in this situation.
The company has publicly refused to cooperate with law enforcement as a result of 2016 shot to the ground in San Bernardino, when they refused to unlock the iPhone from one of the gunmen (after offering the FBI a cloud option loophole). In 2018, Apple's iOS 12 updates introduced to their restricted USB mode function to counteract access code breaking tools such as GrayKey. The new mode prevents data transfer via the USB port if the last three days have passed since the phone was last connected to a computer. In addition, the phone activates the restricted USB mode each time it is locked and requires an access code (not just a fingerprint or face for face recognition). It is possible that Gray change, the company behind GrayKey, will end up provide a workaround.
Amazon
In a question to Andrew DeVore, vice president and associate general counsel of Amazon, Senator Cory Gardner inquired about the amount of access Chinese companies have to data on Amazon servers. Amazon Web Services not only allows Amazon sites, but other services such as Netflix and The NASA. Gardner's "yes or no" question elicited a backdoor reaction from DeVore, resulting in the "customer's refusal to own the data".
Amazon on privacy: Amazon Echo, the virtual assistant of the company for the home, deserves to be studied for reasons of confidentiality. The device always listen to you as well as keep a record of each interaction between the device and its users. Which in itself is not bad: any consumer who buys the device knows it well. However, it might be interesting for the Senate to grill the business the way it uses all the data it collects.
Amazon has a lot of information at its disposal with its virtual assistant, but it also manages servers for many companies. Customers of Amazon Web Services include services like Netflix and the federal government organizations like The NASA and the FDA. The company explains the type of confidentiality its customers can expect right here.
The hearing will focus on privacy, but we could expect one of the senators to highlight Amazon's poor pay practices. The CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is the the richest the man in modern history, but the median wage of the workers remains under $ 29,000.
AT & T
High-tech companies are under a lot of the pressure on intrusive privacy practices, but mobile operators can just as easily follow suit. In 2014, AT & T would have followed customers throughsupercookies, Letting companies track people even when traveling abroad or using a private browsing mode on their phone. In May, Senator Ron Wyden attracted many people Securus, a prison technology company that bought data from cell carriers, including AT & T, which allowed them to follow anyone "in a few seconds. "
September 26, 2018, 1:21 pm: This publication has been updated.
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