One of the most exciting days of my life involved a major technological advancement. It was so exciting that my family commemorated it with the purchase of a Christmas tree ornament later that year. It was the day we got our first answering machine.
I am a xennial. And xennials have a unique perspective on technology. We grew up largely without it but were young enough to pick it up easily and keep up with it. If you were to tell teen Tara, that middle-aged Tara purposely keeps her voicemail box full, specifically so no one can leave her a voicemail, she would be appalled.
But it’s really very hard to take a step back far enough to grasp the hold tech has on our lives, even for me. I know privacy is important, but I don’t fully understand what data exists, who has it, who wants it, why they want it. I mean, I kind of get it. Google wants to send me targeted ads, instead of ads for stuff I have no interest in. What’s the big deal? But, it’s a little creepy when my daughter shops for something and ads for that something show up instantly in my Instagram feed.
Jacqueline Lipton, a digital technology law researcher, argues that it is a very big deal, because the same data they use to show you things you want to buy, is a commodity that can be bought by data brokers and sold to anyone and could be used for ill. For example, the concern that period-tracking apps could release sensitive data that would expose someone seeking an abortion.
Lipton notes that the United States is unique, compared to other democratic countries, in that the right to privacy is not enshrined in the constitution and many people don’t realize the deficits in our protections. Here’s the thing though, sure it’s nice to see ads for the stuff you like, but what if it was using your personal data to manipulate you for a political campaign?
These large corporations have our data, they have power over the places where we socialize, what information we see, and any content we create on their sites, and yet they are not willing to take any responsibility.We cannot rely on corporations to do the right thing. They will always do the thing that makes the most money.
Earlier this year, when a tech broligarch infiltrated the federal government with his team of technobandits, social media was flooded with advice about how to protect your privacy and data, and I tried to gather all the right information to make decisions for me and my parents, who are not super tech savvy, and it was completely overwhelming.
Here’s the thing – a single person cannot keep track of how to manage their privacy and data online. We cannot even fully grasp what our data can be used for. I don’t think it’s realistic that we could. I believe we need an FDA for tech.
The purpose of government is to do things for the public good that the private sector either can’t, or won’t do. Or, things we can’t trust a for-profit organization to do fairly. Unfortunately, hating the government and believing it useless is very on-trend right now, but I hope that changes. People love to hate on the FDA, and accuse them of being “in bed” with big Pharma. But in reality, the FDA is all we have protecting us from them. The FDA was created so that anyone can’t just sell a vaccine without proving its efficacy, and so that food companies have to disclose ingredients. The FDA has made plenty of mistakes, but what if there was no FDA? Would we be safer?
We as individuals cannot keep up with all the ways in which technology companies have control over us and gather data from us. Big tech requires oversight, frankly, and they can pay for it. Pharmaceutical companies fund the FDA, and while some believe this causes a conflict of interest, that can be managed with oversight. There is no bigger conflict of interest though, then being a for-profit company.
If pharmaceuticals didn’t fund the FDA, that burden would be entirely on the taxpayers, and it makes sense that pharmaceutical companies should have to pay for the process of getting their medications approved. In the same way, I think tech companies can contribute to the “tech FDA.” Maybe they should have to have their algorithms approved. Maybe they should have independent audits, and be required to log their data collection and use.
I don’t know what the rules should be. Because I’m just one person, I can’t independently keep all my food safe, or inspect bridges before I drive on them, or conduct my own medication research. Guys, we need the government.