Amnesty International: Facebook and Google monitoring practices threatens human rights

Amnesty International, a nonprofit organization, has published a report inviting tech giants Facebook and Google to change their business model and stop relying on user data.

Google currently controls 90% of the search engine market worldwide, while a third of humanity uses Facebook services daily.

“The rise of the surveillance-based business model has resulted in two companies – Google and Facebook – controlling an architecture of surveillance that has no comparison in human history. This system spans entire continents and touches at least a third of the world’s population. In its current form, the surveillance-based business model is incompatible with the right to privacy and poses a serious threat to a range of other human rights”, — report Amnesty International researchers.

The report was prepared against the backdrop of growing control by large technology companies. Facebook is currently under investigation for an alleged violation of user privacy and the use of social media data to manipulate elections. Meanwhile, Google has run into data collection policy issues.

“Billions of people have no meaningful choice but to access this public space on terms dictated by Facebook and Google”, – said Amnesty International’s general secretary Kumi Naidoo.

According to Amnesty International, the best solution would be to change the business model. While technology companies make money through advertising, user data will be their favorite source of revenue. The organization has not proposed an alternative monetization strategy, but is considering a subscription option.

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The second part of the decision concerns regulation. Governments are encouraged to enact new data privacy laws and enforce existing ones.