Lately there has been a lot of attention brought to the misuse of privacy and safeguards large online companies have to follow, and importantly are following. Currently there are 16 investigations into Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon – regarding their privacy policies and how they are using our personal data for their own gain.
European officials have for years now scrutinised the way such companies use data, now however the United States are conducting federal, state and congress investigations, which could result in new laws that might alter the balance of such corporation’s power.
Together, Google and Facebook account for the most online advertising. Google is the largest search engine and is being assessed on its fair use of advancing some customers or ads over others. Last year Google was fined $5billion for forcing Android (the Google owned mobile operating system) smartphones to use Google apps. This year, Google is to pay a $170 million fine and make changes to protect children’s privacy on YouTube (also Google owned). The Federal Trade Commission has found that YouTube has knowingly and illegally harvested personal information from children and used it to profit by targeting them with advertising.
Facebook, the largest social media company, face 8 investigations regarding antitrust, privacy and cryptocurrency. This year we have reported on the lack of care regarding personal data and the considerable fines Facebook have been dealt, such as the $5 billion fine for bad practice of privacy policies. Additionally Facebook paid a $100 million fine for another misuse in data. Facebook have also been charged with discrimination on the basis of race and colour by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD reported that “Facebook was breaking the law by restricting who can view housing-related adverts on its site, which the department said “unlawfully discriminates based on race, colour, national origin, religion, familial status, sex, and disability”.
Around half of UK citizens and Americans who own a smartphone use an Apple device. The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission currently have three pending investigations with Apple, mainly to assess if Apple is unfairly wielding the power of its App Store to hurt competitors.
Likewise, Amazon face three pending investigations of antitrust from the Justice Department, the Federal Trade Commission and House Judiciary Committee. The main reason for this is to find if Amazon favour its own private-label goods over products from third-party sellers. Amazon has a huge market share and could largely influence sales across the UK and America, with 90% of UK citizens purchasing from here and around half of American citizens.
It is reassuring to see investigations into such influential companies, which can wield such market dominance. It is clear of the control online companies have on the market and how personal information is used to influence what advertisement is shown and affect what is bought online. However, despite the investigations from Europe and the US, it remains an individual’s responsibility to ensure you are aware of what information you are giving away and to whom.