Democracy threatens Big Tech's business model

I lost my privacy. You can no longer share content or audio without a gatekeeper. You have lost control of the public realm. We have lost the freedom to choose what technology we use and what it displays.

Big tech companies would like us to believe that the internet has to be like this, but surveillance, tracking, and manipulation are not inherent to technology. The protocol, which began as a decentralized and open protocol, has instead embraced democratic values ​​due to a deliberate choice to pursue a kind of ad-based revenue model that Shoshana Zuboff has described as “surveillance capitalism.” has eroded. This business model is now threatened by growing societal awareness that it is incompatible with democracy.

While 94% of Europeans are concerned about targeted advertising online, companies have not yet changed course. “There's a lot tech companies could do to make the internet a safer place, but they're not doing it,” said Paul Tan, a member of the European Parliament.Finn Milstad, co-chair of the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, agreed, noting the disparities arising from compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe, saying, “U.S. consumers have fewer rights than consumers in businesses. can Provides a higher level of protection, but chooses not to. ”

Lawmakers operate outside the reach of big tech companies. GDPR introduced initial privacy protections for the European market's 450 million citizens. The Digital Markets Act (DMA), Digital Services Act (DSA), and AI Act bring further technology regulation to Europe, while the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) builds on the state's existing data privacy laws. introduces new obligations and undertakes to regulate some of the following: Home to some of the world's most powerful technology companies. Advocating for children's online safety has the potential to advance privacy protections for everyone, as seen in design codes in various US states, the UK, and Europe.

But both old and new laws must be enforced. Jeff Chester, who led the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in 1998, warns, “We also need an ethical sense to protect the laws we create.” As demonstrated by the Max Schrems case in Europe and recent antitrust litigation over mergers and acquisitions in the United States, where high-tech regulation rarely enjoys bipartisan support, also has the ability to enforce compliance.

There is plenty of room to go beyond the law to protect democratic values ​​online. Tech workers are pushing to unionize. The Department of Culture and Education is developing digital public spaces. Academic and non-profit researchers make significant contributions to technology based on public values ​​such as openness, fairness, and sovereignty. The development of more palatable alternatives like Nextcloud, Fairphone, Proton, and Matrix demonstrate the viability of technology built on democratic principles.

While surveillance capitalism is under threat from all sides, efforts to maintain Big Tech's business model far outweigh adjustments to preserve democracy. “[Big Tech companies] “They have developed an effective and powerful lobbying position to circumvent regulatory and accountability mechanisms,” Chester said. Milstad said Big Tech's lobbyists “do their job by deflecting, confusing and withholding information.” They collaborate with consumer groups and academics. They fly in space, start think tanks, and start industry associations. They use many covert tactics to undermine democratic values. ”

Regarding the opposition to the Big Tech lobby, Tan describes the coordination as “unstable.” The dialogue includes a chance encounter between a member of the European Parliament and a like-minded member of the US Congress, coordination around consumer rights led by the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue, and international networks of advocates such as People vs. Big Tech. Although opportunities exist, there is no formal coordination among democracies to protect democratic values, collective rights, and civil liberties in the face of the greatest threats.

Democracies now have an opportunity to reinvigorate existing alliances around the pursuit of technologies consistent with democratic values. “Adjustment requires agreement, and there is agreement on both sides of the Atlantic,” Tan said. Such coordination needs to be broad and inclusive, in the form of stable channels for politicians, researchers, civil society, developers, and the public to collaborate on technology and social issues. The United States, the European Union, and other democracies around the world must move beyond consumer rights and align their technology policies with democratic values.

In the short term, democracy advocates may rally against Big Tech's advertising model. “When you take on advertising, you take on Big Tech,” Tan says. Milstad agrees, pointing to contextual and self-selected advertising as evidence that media and technology can survive without surveillance advertising. “People don't want their data to be shared with millions of companies, and that's the way things are today. And they don't want to be discriminated against for marketing or pricing purposes. ” In the long term, we will face a similar battle against the “winner-takes-all” business models that have emerged on the back of AI.

Big Tech's business model repeatedly challenges democratic principles such as privacy, equality, freedom, and civil rights. We now face a collective choice: protect technology and advertising's disruptive business models or protect democracy.