Facebook's and Google’s Breaches Show It’s Time for an Internet Bill of Rights

[steven36]

Our Founding Fathers drafted the Bill of Rights to safeguard our freedoms in the physical world. Today, as Americans are living more of their lives online, the digital age demands that we have new rights to protect our freedoms in the cyber world.

 

 

To secure these rights, we will have to overcome gridlock and a knowledge gap in Congress. Following the Equifax breach nearly a year ago and the Facebook hearings on Cambridge Analytica six months back, Congress still hasn’t acted. Besides a few hearings that exposed our Senators’ lack of knowledge of the Internet, Congress adjourned two weeks early to extend the midterm campaigns, instead of staying to work on passing an Internet-reform bill.

 

The lack of urgency in Congress has persisted even in the wake of recent revelations that a Facebook security breach exposed 50 million users’ personal information to attackers and Google let third-party app developers access information on users who did not give them permission. The truth is that most elected officials and their legislative staff on Capitol Hill simply lack the necessary expertise to write rules for the Internet.

 

Since I represent Silicon Valley, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi tapped me in April to draft a set of principles for an Internet Bill of Rights. Instead of only focusing on privacy and the right to protect one’s own identity and data, I included principles ensuring net neutrality and universal access to the Internet.

 

In total, with the help of consumer groups and World Wide Web founder Tim Berners-Lee, we came up with ten principles that can help define rights in the digital age. I imagine thoughtful Republicans such as U.S. Representatives Mike Coffman and Will Hurd, along with Matt Lira from the White House’s Office of American Innovation, could collaborate on legislation based on these principles. They are as follows:

 

First, you should be able to know and access what personal data of yours companies collect. Instead of reading a long and convoluted legal document, it should be clear and in plain language what information of yours is being collected.

 

Second, you should be able to opt-in and consent when that personal data is being collected and shared. It should be clear exactly what you are consenting to, but such prompts shouldn’t be relentless to the point of fatigue.

 

Third, you should be able to correct or delete incorrect personal data, assuming such action does not violate the First Amendment. This right is not the same as the European Union’s “Right to be Forgotten,” given that we have the First Amendment protecting the press’ free speech in the U.S. In the 2014 case Garcia v. Google, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote that “such a ‘right to be forgotten,’ although recently affirmed by the Court of Justice for the European Union, is not recognized in the United States.”

 

Fourth, if you allow a company to collect your personal data, that data should be properly secured. If for some reason there is a breach, that company must notify you in a timely manner, not only when it’s financially convenient. Last year, despite knowing about the security breach on July 29, Equifax waited until Sept. 7 until they notified their customers. Similarly, Facebook shouldn’t have been able to wait years to publicly announce its Cambridge Analytica breach.

 

Fifth, you should be able to have data-portability and move your personal data from network to network. It’s your data and you should have the right to move it if you want — including moving your personal network from Facebook or Snapchat to any other social media platform.

 

Sixth, you should have access to a free and open Internet despite efforts by the Trump Administration and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to dismantle net-neutrality protections. Internet service providers should not be permitted to block, throttle and unfairly favor certain content, applications, services or devices.

 

Seventh, you should be able to access the Internet without the collection of data that is unnecessary for providing the requested service. An Internet service provider reasonably needs to know your name and address. But it’s hard to imagine why a provider would need to collect your Internet browsing habits other than to sell your data.

 

Eighth, you should be able to access multiple viable, affordable Internet platforms, services and providers with clear and transparent pricing. According to the FCC, 30% of Americans have only one choice for broadband service. Thirteen percent don’t have access to a provider at all. All Americans must have access to the Internet in today’s digital world, and the market needs competition to drive affordable prices.

 

Ninth, just like you can no longer be discriminated against at the lunch counter, you should have the right to not be exploited or unfairly discriminated against based on your personal data. For instance, advertisements for high-paying jobs should not be disproportionately shown to men, and if you search for black names and fraternities, you shouldn’t be more likely to see advertisements for arrest records.

 

Tenth, in the case where an entity collects your personal data, it must adopt cybersecurity best practices. There should be an understanding and trust that your privacy and data will be protected. Entities need to be held legally responsible for not implementing reasonable business practices.

 

My hope is that these ten rights will begin the much-needed and long-overdue conversation in Congress to guide a legislative solution that restores our privacy and protection online.

 

The American people can no longer wait while their data is being collected, shared and stolen on the web. The Internet can be a tool for more freedom and prosperity, but only if proper rules and guidelines exist. Our constituents tasked us to make those rules. It is now up to Congress to answer that call and bring our laws into the 21st Century.

 

Source

[Soze]

How would this be enforced? 

 

Congress dngaf about anything other than consolidating and expanding its control.  

 

Dea puts alpr's on speed readers, redacted how much taxpayers spent on their own surveillance, that's fine.  Police spend millions on stingrays and they are illegal for the public.  Military surplus flows to police departments for free. 

 

To paraphrase the late George Carlin, "people in this country have been bought off with toys".   

 

A ton of money is being generated by the attention crisis.  Why does YouTube keep playing videos?  To keep you watching, to pitch ads, record analytics to sell to advertisers.  

 

Facebooks data shows depressed teens click on and buy makeup ads, so Facebook pitches them more makeup. 

 

Look into the Chinese social score, and how it's being integrated into their ai cameras.  

 

All these tech companies allow zero days they know exist to help keep surveillance. They assume only they and nsa are aware and that's how they are being breached. 

 

To congress at this point people are just an animal that generates revenue. If you are expecting them to make an internet bill of rights when they refuse to protect the Fourth Amendment with their decades running dragnet surveillance, you're dreaming. 

 

 

How many terrorists have been caught vs how many drug dealers?  No one knows or will admit.  The constitution is the only thing that makes us American, the one thing that is supposed to bind us that we all support and love. 

 

America unfortunately is an oligarchy which it was designed to avoid.  The American drug war has killed over 100 cops and almost 400 civilians in USA this year. 

 

Totally worth it Congress, thanks for keeping wages down while voting yourselves pay raises for 2/3 of the years "work" (absorbing bribes and passing bills written by lobbyists). 

 

They are a disconnected overclass that don't even pay for postage.  Check out the Panama papers their names are all over it.  But Putin though.... 

 

 

Just kidding, go ahead and vote, we're free, two party system much better than one party and that's what we have 😉

[steven36]

19 minutes ago, Soze said:

Congress dngaf about anything other than consolidating and expanding its control.  

I look at it like this in the USA we dont have data retention laws . If it were not for the naive who trusted  Google and Facebook with data the government wouldn't need to do something about it.  People done it to themselves, If  you cant protect your own privacy and  security  then someone will do it for you . Me myself dont need a bill of rights its the masses of idiots that do, its not  just Big tech you got to worry about ether,  like the Facebook hack it was 3rd party hackers who got there data and  Cambridge Analytica  .. When peoples data get breached it becomes a matter of national security and  the American people  done it to themselves for being naive. You should of knew sooner or latter Google and Facebook's greed would catch up  with them and the losses would out number the benefits.

[Soze]

Of course that's what I meant with the Carlin bit.  Look east where tor is illegal, proxies and VPN banned, sim card or isp signup require id, etc, that is the future. 

 

Opiate death has replaced heart attacks in number of Americans dying from it. Yet congress maintains the drug war, lets dea raid nonviolent business people providing cancer medicine, spends tax money to stifle voter referendums.  

 

They are all tyrants, Democrat and Republicans.  Any hope they can offer is a smoke screen. 

 

Ben Franklin said no nation ever taxed itself to prosperity, yet Panama papers prove they have offshore dough not paying taxes on, and you and I can keep right on paying.  They'll keep withdrawing.  

 

The system works.  I have lived overseas, but I like America and being able to go to different states and all the food etc.  But the government is the worst part of living here. 

[steven36]

1 hour ago, Soze said:

Opiate death has replaced heart attacks in number of Americans dying from it. Yet congress maintains the drug war, lets dea raid nonviolent business people providing cancer medicine, spends tax money to stifle voter referendums.  

 Its not just any opiates ether,  it's  fentanyl 25-50 times stronger than heroin, It's all being made in China  there government has to be allowing it to be smuggled  out people worried  about being hacked  online  by a  micro chip when China are behind the Opiate crisis  ..  That's another reason why there being hard on China.

 

It's coming from  China  and being smuggled though Mexico with the Coke and the Meth that Terrorism and human trafficking is why there's a war going on down at the border right now.

 

Fentanyl has taken over America's drug market. Where is it coming from?

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/sd-me-fentanyl-pipeline-20180617-story.html

 

Politics are never black and white as people think. The FBI  said China  are not just threat actors you have to worry about today like other countries .. You have to worry about them tomorrow and forever . Terrorism is no longer the only thing Home Land Security is having to  deal with  right now . It's not 2001 anymore.

 

FBI chief tells US Congress that China poses bigger security threat than Russia

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/2167957/confront-beijing-human-rights-us-congressional-group-urges

 

Back in 2001  right  before 9-11  I ask  a guy in the military what  was the biggest threat to the USA  China ?  He said no it was Terrorism  right now but China will most likely be next and he was right about Terrorism  and soon after we were attacked  and today what he said seem to be coming to past again . It's scary to think about  it really. The Government  knows more about whats going on than they tell you. They knew there was going to be a attack somewhere they just didn't know were because on the base I was working on they raised the security level up  right before the attacks.

 

Right now things in the USA have not been on such High Alert since the Cold War  Now it's Cold war 2  with China ,,

 

The feds are watching all the websites too they was talking about that to Congress as well .

[Soze]

https://www.cybereason.com/blog/advanced-persistent-threat-apt

 

I think this is the real threat.  In China it's not just spies everyone hacks for the state.  Most computer science majors there, tons of people, and it will never stop.