DuckDuckGo, Proton, Mozilla Throw Weight Behind Bill Targeting Big Tech 'Surveillance'

A group of privacy-focused organizations have signed a letter imploring US Congress leaders to schedule a vote on a bill that would hamper data collection by tech giants and promote user access to online privacy tools. From a report: In its letter to Congress, addressed to the likes of Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, the alliance argued that the continued suppression of the American Innovation and Choice Online Act (AICOA) allows "dominant firms" to "limit competition and restrict user choice" when accessing privacy-focused technologies and products. It also accused tech giants of forcing users into accepting their policies of "perpetual surveillance" because of their positions as "gatekeepers," and of using their "influence in society" to steer users away from rival services more committed to privacy. Signatories included the likes of DuckDuckGo, Proton, Brave and Mozilla, among others, representing sectors ranging from VPN and search to web browsers, office software, and more. The letter to Congress fighting for the revival of the AICOA hit back at the idea that the US technology industry is a free market. The 13 signatories, all of which are relatively small in stature, claim the tech giants deliberately wield the depth and breadth of their product portfolios to establish unassailable monopolies.

Need to stop permissionless accounts

[gurps_npc]

We need to take back our privacy. It's not that hard to severely limit the privacy gnats that bite it away bit by bit, at least if the lawmakers stood up to them.

First and foremost we need to end the practice of stealing info from people that do not have the right to give it away.

When facebook et al. gets new accounts, they download your contacts.

This should be ILLEGAL. I gave my phone number to my friend, I did not give them permission to give it anyone else. Everyone should be forbidden from this kind of activity, and enforcement should come down heavily on corporations that try to do it.

In addition, any data that is not associated with an existing account should be deleted. When someones signs up to facebook, it should have no idea who their friends are. That info should be something the client should enter by hand.

Yes, this will destroy Meta's business model. Because their model is unethical.

Re:

[higfchjgddljr5778]

Lawmakers aren't going to do anything. They get campaign contributions, have millions in big tech stocks, and rely on these companies for tax revenue. They have their priorities.

Re:

[whatshisname]

We have the best politicians that money can buy.

Tone Deaf

[bill_mcgonigle]

Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi can agree on one thing - if DuckDuckGo, Proton, Brave and Mozilla are for it, they are against it.

Mozilla?

[Errol backfiring]

Mozilla has been sleeping with Google for about a decade now, happily throwing overboard the good parts of Firefox and sending tons of data to Google because sponsoring. And now they suddenly pretend to have principles?