Is the whole thing over for free on the internet?

cyberwarrior (52)in #technology • 6 years ago

The traditional model of everything free on the internet in exchange for our data is bound to be redefined with the imminent entry into force of a new regulation in Europe that is already provoking a whole chain of updates of the privacy policies of the large technological platforms.

Two fronts are pouncing against each other: on the one hand, a business approach "with huge profits", and on the other, a regulation that advances "armed to the teeth" in Europe " to directly combat" a business model "Based on the massive and indiscriminate treatment of personal data " in exchange for an alleged free service, warns Efe the expert lawyer in digital law Víctor Salgado .

The new EU data protection regulation, the RGPD, will be fully applied as of May 25 to any operator or large internet platform regardless of where it has its headquarters or its services as long as it deals with European data and develops activity. commercial or analyze data profiles of these citizens, both commercial and political.

In recent days, several of the largest technology platforms are reporting in a chain of updating their respective privacy policies to comply with this demanding regulation that changes the rules of the game of European privacy although with a global impact, and whose breach exposes to sanctions of up to 20 million euros or 4% of the company's annual global turnover.

After the recent scandal of Facebook due to the leaked data accessed by the Cambridge Analytica consultancy linked to the electoral campaign that gave the victory to the US president, Donald Trump, the platform works with special zeal to comply with the European regulation , which it requires privacy from the design, and the explicit consent of the user so that a company can use their personal data for purposes other than those originally planned.

The case of Cambridge Analytica has been "the straw that has filled the glass" in terms of infringement of users' privacy rights, says lawyer and consultant Borja Adsuara . However, with regulations such as the European regulation, the expert in digital law trusts, "little by little the glass of respect for the fundamental rights of citizens will be filled : to honor, to privacy, to one's own image, and to the Data Protection". The process "has no turning back," adds Adsuara.

In recent days, not only Facebook, but also the US WhatsApp, YouTube or Twitter have joined the cascade of updates of their respective privacy policies to comply with the new European regulations. One of the absentees in this current as well as recent privacy debates is Google, "the most historically benefited with the business model" on the Internet that uses precisely the user data in exchange for a supposed free service, adds Víctor Salgado , from Pintos & Salgado Abogados .

In the current context of regulatory changes, WhatsApp, owned by Facebook, has raised from the age of 13 to 16 the minimum age to register in Europe as a user of its Internet messaging service, despite the fact that the European regulation allows it to be keep as up until now. Messages and calls from this platform are protected by end-to-end encryption so that nobody, not even WhatsApp , can read or listen to the user's conversations, he recalls in a note.

For its part, YouTube, Google, with the commitment to repeat it quarterly has just published for the first time a report with the number of videos deleted between October and December 2017 as inappropriate; the figure exceeded eight million. The eliminated productions referred to "spam" (unwanted mail) or supposedly inappropriate contents such as those that incite hatred, violence, dangerous acts or child abuse, among others.

Twitter has also announced a greater commitment to the transparency of its users by informing them about how they share their data, for example with partner companies. In light of the new data protection laws in Europe, "we have updated our privacy policy," the platform states in a note.