Why are some tech companies positioning themselves as defenders of our privacy? A new survey of 28,000 tech consumers from 28 countries suggests why. After price, 47 percent of respondents say that the top issues determining their next gadget purchase are privacy and security.
The biggest names in tech are butting heads with world governments. There was CISA in the U.S. Congress and drawn-out encryption battles with law enforcement agencies. A new counterterrorism bill in China may lead to confrontation with companies such as Apple that encrypt messages on their devices.
Most recently a British bill, proposed by the country’s national intelligence services, calls for keeping the online search history of every citizen for a year and demands access to records companies possess outside U.K. borders. Apple is concerned that the law could spark international conflicts and paralyze the international tech business. Facebook, Yahoo, and Microsoft are also critical of the bill, though it was Apple’s criticism that earned kudos from Edward Snowden.
Maybe the economic incentive is why Microsoft announced, on the same day a breach of its system was reported by Reuters, plans to notify customers if a state-sponsored hacker is trying to breach their systems. In 2009, hackers associated with the Chinese government targeted officials from Japan, Tibet, parts of Africa, and Chinese regions with substantial Uighur populations. The breach wasn’t shared with the victims, Reuters said. Microsoft denies the claim.
Maybe it was the Snowden leaks or high-profile hacks like the one carried out against major retailers and Ashley Madison, but privacy is mainstream now. It’s unnerving to be defended by companies whose wealth is generated by the wealth of information they have on all of us, companies subject to confidential court rulings or the NSA’s Prism program. Welcome to the intersection of altruism and self-interest. Like diversity, like climate change, like doing good to do well, at these crossroads the right decision and the decision that makes money can be indistinguishable.
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Photo Credit: Tony Webster