Big Tech

Data privacy came into public consciousness in 2018. Yet, even with new regulations to protect personal privacy, it’s clear that there is still a long way to go in 2019 before personal data is truly protected.

The days of federal privacy laws coming to Silicon Valley may happen sooner than you think. In a much-publicized keynote speech given at the 40th ICDPPC in Brussels, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave his full-throated support for laws that would be at least as stringent as the EU GDPR.

Apparent trend toward heavy government regulation of personal data collection has tech industry titans discussing support for a federal privacy law so that the industry-supported legislation contains terms that are as friendly to them as possible.

California once again takes the lead with new data privacy law. While tech companies are not delighted and will continue to fight, it is still a better alternative to the November ballot which would have been more problematic.

GDPR may have a huge impact on small businesses but may not stop government surveillance or cool the unfair advantage of tech giants over smaller industries and smaller players. Are there real improvements to consumer privacy?

While the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal has created its share of problems for Facebook, it’s clear that the scale and scope of the scandal extends to every corner of Silicon Valley. After all, most tech giants are collecting staggering amounts of user data and comprehensive new privacy regulations seem imminent.

In the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, many have suggested that Facebook be regulated, fined and perhaps even broken up. After all, if the FTC were to invoke its full power, it could theoretically levy hundreds of millions of dollars of fines, crippling Facebook. But is a big tech company too big to fail?

Mozilla's first-ever Internet Health Report highlights the key challenges affecting the creation of an open, safe and accessible Internet – Big Tech’s growing power, the collapse of privacy especially with IoT security, and the spread of fake news. All of these challenges point to deeper problems with the Internet.