Surveillance Capitalism

Twitter Accepts Elon Musk’s Buyout Deal

April 27, 2022

Twitter’s board has accepted billionaire Elon Musk’s offer of nearly $44 billion to purchase the social media giant, making it a private company with goals of reinstating free speech and enhancing the product with new features including authenticating all humans
Elon Musk Takes 9.2% Stake in Twitter

April 08, 2022

After taking a poll last month to his 80 million Twitter followers asking whether or not the company adheres to the principles of free speech, Elon Musk took a 9.2% stake in Twitter Inc. to become the platform’s biggest shareholder, leading to a surge in shares.
Facebook Allows Posts Urging Violence against Russians

March 14, 2022

According to Reuters, Meta Platforms will allow Facebook and Instagram users to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers concerning the Ukraine invasion, changing their hate speech policy.
Frederick: Tech Totalitarianism Threatens America

February 25, 2022

Former counterterrorism analyst for the Department of Defense, Kara Frederick, writing in The Federalist, warns of Big Tech increasing their control over Americans private lives including undermining First Amendment freedoms in silencing speech, suggesting that if this control continues to grow, America will soon find itself in a similar situation as Canada or China.
Texas Sues Facebook over Biometric Data Collection

February 16, 2022

The Texas attorney general's office has sued Meta's Facebook, alleging that FB violated state privacy law by collecting biometric data of millions of Texans without their consent.
Gregersen: Impact of Schrems II

January 05, 2022

Carsten Rhod Gregersen writing for readwrite.com dives into the explaination and consequences of Schrems II, a legal case concerning Facebook’s transfer of personal data from Europe to the United States violating the GDRP.
France Rebukes U.S. AI Company for Privacy Breaches

December 22, 2021

Clearview AI has been ordered by French data privacy watchdog CNIL to stop collecting and using data from people based in France, an accusation that the U.S. based facial recognition company denies.
Reuters: Documents show Amazon’s Attacks on Americans' Privacy

November 23, 2021

As states throughout the U.S. attempt to give consumers increased control over their collected data, confidential documents reviewed by Reuters reveal that Amazon.com Inc has collected a huge amount of sensitive personal information on its customers.
Google fined $2.8 Billion, Loses Challenge against EU

November 16, 2021

Google has lost an appeal against a 2.42-billion-euro ($2.8-billion) antitrust decision, giving a win to Europe's competition chief in a ruling that is key tin the efforts of the EU push to regulate big tech.
Apple Holds Control over States' Digital ID Cards

November 15, 2021

According to CNBC, Apple's digital ID card requires tight control for the governments that use them, requiring not only running the platforms, but also hiring managers to handle Apple's requests.