Tech Giants Accused of Spying on Users
As digital technology penetration accelerates globally, predominantly US- and China-based technology corporations have ascended to command the highest brand valuations across industries.
This unprecedented concentration of user data in corporate hands has thrust privacy protection into urgent public discourse surrounding social media expansion.
Google and Meta have emerged as focal points in mounting controversies—the search giant allegedly deployed its voice assistant technology to eavesdrop on users without authorization or disclosure, subsequently weaponizing captured information for targeted advertisement campaigns.
Google Assistant stands accused of capturing ambient audio and transmitting confidential conversations to marketing firms, prompting Google to agree to a $68 million settlement payment to resolve legal action and prevent courtroom proceedings, recent reporting indicates.
Meta, commanding a user base spanning billions globally, faces allegations from an international coalition that it has been archiving and scrutinizing WhatsApp communications. Legal filings contend that WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption functions as mere theater, asserting fundamental user privacy rights have been systematically breached.
Yet these contemporary revelations represent merely the latest chapter in a long-established pattern. Corporate surveillance and privacy transgressions by technology conglomerates stretch back years.
Numerous corporations—particularly US-headquartered social platforms—have faced intense scrutiny since their founding amid persistent allegations, most notably from CIA employee Edward Snowden.
Snowden exposed classified intelligence revealing Washington had constructed an expansive surveillance apparatus, monitoring not merely designated threats but populations across the globe.
The leaked materials demonstrated that the National Security Agency (NSA) maintained direct server access to corporations including Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Yahoo, enabling comprehensive surveillance of electronic correspondence, messaging records, and stored files.
2018 witnessed one of social media's most explosive scandals erupt into public view.
The Cambridge Analytica affair exemplified what security analysts classify as psychological warfare tactics. The UK-based political strategy firm harvested comprehensive data from 87 million individuals through a personality assessment titled "This Is Your Digital Life."
The seemingly innocuous Facebook questionnaire accumulated vast datasets to construct psychological dossiers for individual users. The consultancy was subsequently discovered to have exploited collected intelligence to manipulate the Brexit referendum and 2016 US presidential election outcomes.
Cambridge Analytica ceased operations and Facebook absorbed a $5 billion penalty—the largest privacy violation fine ever levied against a technology enterprise.
In more contemporary circumstances, following billionaire Elon Musk's acquisition of US-based platform Twitter, now X, he authorized release of what became designated the Twitter Files.
The Twitter Files comprised internal corporate communications and documentation provided to independent journalists, exposing covert arrangements between Twitter and the US government.
The disclosure revealed Twitter had implemented a mechanism termed visibility filtering to suppress accounts challenging Washington's official positions without user awareness. Targeted accounts remained operational but underwent algorithmic manipulation rendering their content significantly less visible to other users.
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