Privacy wars heating up

“It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” That’s the opening line to George Orwell’s 1984, a novel envisioning a dystopian future in which privacy is a thing of the past.

Big Brother is always watching.

If you haven’t read or don’t recall the novel, it follows the trials and tribulations of Winston Smith as he negotiates his disillusionment with the state.

The world described by Orwell bespeaks of Stalinist Russia and appears to be a condemnation of communism.

More accurately, the novel examines the boundary between truth and facts in politics and life.

And it gave us many wonderful terms, such as “Thought Police,” “Newspeak”, “memory hole”, “2 + 2 = 5”, and “doublethink”, along with the dreaded “Room 101” where Winston faced his worst fears and was finally broken.

In the end, Winston came to love Big Brother.

As a product of its time, when the fight between democracy and communism raged, with its own form of Big Brother in the McCarthy hearings, it was a warning about allowing the control of our lives to slip from our hands.

But Orwell envisioned the institution of Big Brother through a massive radical shift in society – a revolutionary change.

Instead, we are now living in an age where our loss of privacy has crept up on us slowly.

Like the apocryphal frog in the slowly warming waters, perhaps we are not aware of just how hot things have got.

It is not often I agree with MP Bob Zimmer but around protecting personal privacy, I must give him a lot of credit as this is an issue he has pushed very hard.

He chaired the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, which published a rather damning report in 2018 entitled “Democracy Under Threat: Risks and Solutions in the Era of Disinformation and Data Monopoly.”

While the document was a response to the data breaches by Cambridge Analytics, it does make 26 recommendations to government which go beyond just protecting our electoral process.

In speaking about his work on the issue, Zimmer said: “Through the course of this study I have grown increasingly concerned about the misuse of Canadians’ personal data, disinformation or ‘fake news’, and foreign influences that threaten our democracy…. It is our responsibility to make sure digital platforms such as Facebook and Google not only get a grip on their responsibility to properly safeguard their platforms but to act to prevent the bullies from continuing to manipulate our new ‘public square’.”

Committee members of all political stripes echoed his words.

And perhaps the tech giants are finally listening as they have extended their ban on the former President of the U.S. preventing his use of their platforms to foment discontent and incite treasonous acts. But it might be too little, too late. After all, asking the bullies to prevent bullying generally doesn’t work. Facebook, Google, and others big corporations are private companies.

They are run by CEOs, answerable to a board of directors and ultimately the shareholders.

They are not answerable to us. Their job is to make money, not to operate as a public utility intended for the public good.

Perhaps more to the point, we have all been their willing accomplices in this information age where data is big business. Facebook had 2.7 billion active users in 2020 and revenues of $86 billion dollars.

How much is the data you willingly provide to them by using their services worth?

On average, $31.90. Not a lot but a lot more than most users realize.

Facebook is actively engaged in obtaining every bit of information they can about you.

From your likes and dislikes to your favourite ice cream flavour.

The more they know, the more they can sell that data to companies who want to sell you something.

We have all been their willing accomplices in this information age where data is big business.

Your personal data – your age, name, ID numbers, income, ethnic origin, blood type, opinions, evaluations, credit records, medical records, social status, etc. – are protected in Canada to some extent by the “Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.”

But it is Canadian law and only applies to companies bound by Canadian law.

That doesn’t include multinational corporations.

Despite being a global giant, Apple is standing up to the bullies.

The new iOS 12.5 requires you to “opt-in” to data collection using a simple question when uploading an app – “Would you allow this app to collect personal data about you?”

Needless to say, Facebook’s response is “We disagree with Apple’s approach and solution… they will block Facebook from the App Store which would only further harm the people and businesses that rely on our services.”

Indeed, Facebook suggests they might have to start charging people to use their services - to give them their most intimate information.

How Orwellian is that?