Internet giants use 'ubiquitous surveillance' to collect massive amounts of data, says London-based rights group.
The
data-collection business model fuelling Facebook and Google
represents a threat to human rights around the world, Amnesty
International said in a report Wednesday.
The
organization argued that offering people free online services and
then using information about them to target money-making ads imperils
a gamut of rights including freedom of opinion and expression.
"Despite
the real value of the services they provide, Google and Facebook's
platforms come at a systemic cost," Amnesty said in its report,
"Surveillance Giants."
"The
companies' surveillance-based business model forces people to make a
Faustian bargain, whereby they are only able to enjoy their human
rights online by submitting to a system predicated on human rights
abuse."
With
ubiquitous surveillance, the two online giants are able to collect
massive amounts of data which may be used against their customers,
according to the London-based human rights group.
The
business model is "inherently incompatible with the right to
privacy," Amnesty contended. The report maintained that the two
Silicon Valley firms have established "near-total dominance over
the primary channels through which people connect and engage with the
online world," giving them unprecedented power over people's
lives.
"Google
and Facebook dominate our modern lives -- amassing unparalleled power
over the digital world by harvesting and monetizing the personal data
of billions of people," said Kumi Naidoo, Amnesty
International's secretary general.
"Their
insidious control of our digital lives undermines the very essence of
privacy and is one of the defining human rights challenges of our
era." The report called for governments to implement policies
that ensure access to online services while protecting user privacy.
"Governments
have an obligation to protect people from human rights abuses by
corporations," Amnesty maintained.
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