After the LA Court verdict, the UK must disrupt surveillance capitalism business models
Open Rights Group has responded to the verdict of an LA court that Meta and YouTube are liable for deliberately engineering addictive products and for failing to safeguard users.
James Baker, Platform Power Programme Manager said:
“Social media giants have pushed engagement-driven designs that keep us on their platforms so they can harvest our data for advertising revenues.
This landmark verdict is an important step in acknowledging that it is Big Tech harmful business models are creating toxic online spaces.
The UK Government should take note. Forcing age ID checks for internet access will not solve the problem, because it does nothing to tackle the root structural causes of harm: advertising-driven business models built on surveillance, profiling and maximising engagement.
Age-gates threaten freedom of expression, undermine privacy, and create new cybersecurity risks by requiring people to hand over ever more sensitive personal data.
The real solution is to confront the business models driving these harms, not to restrict access to the open internet.”
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Making Platforms Accountable
A report and recommendations to improve on the online environment through user empowerment.
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Open Rights Group is calling on the UK Government to:
- Uphold data protection law to stop the intrusive, targeted ads that fuel the attention economy and feed online hate.
- Compel social media companies to be transparent about the algorithms that determine which content we see and give users the ability to control how they work.
- Introduce Social media switching rights: as with mobile phones and banking people should be able to leave a platform without losing your audience, your data, or your ability to communicate with others.