It is inexplicably difficult for the tech companies to make money, as well as run their business, without hoarding users’ data and then sharing it with the advertisers, in a way both the parties earn profits off the users. But what is clear is how these companies have been rampant with this practice, so much so that the big ones have been criticised, checked, and called out for doing so. Many users today believe that there should be stricter regulation on the tech companies, something Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates echoed in his latest interview.
Gates told Fox News in an interview that the legislators in the US, as well in other countries, should formulate more effective and stringent regulation on how far the tech companies can go. He is of the opinion that regulation on major tech companies in the US “makes a lot of sense.” He added, “The government should be talking to these companies about what they do.” Interestingly, Gates himself testified in Congress back in 1998 over Microsoft’s policy and extent of power after it was dragged into an antitrust lawsuit lodged by US Department of Justice.
But now he is vocal about how this practice is fair and tech companies need to comply with the privacy regulations. He told in the interview that the tech companies should work with Congress. He added flair to his opinion by sharing his memories of his early days at Microsoft. “I was naive; I didn’t have an office in Washington, D.C. I thought that was a good thing and I even bragged about it,” Gates told Fox News. He added that he later regretted that attitude and now hopes that “these guys” are learning better.
Recently, Google CEO Sundar Pichai was the latest tech personality to testify in Congress over the company’s privacy policy and if it censors the search results. Well, this is not the first time for an official of a tech colossus to face the backlash from the users, as well as the regulators. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is probably at the frontline of all the privacy concerns that Congress raises against the tech companies operating in the US. Zuckerberg gave his testimony on how clear-headed Facebook as a tech company is, in addition to braving questions involving the Cambridge Analytica scandal that shook the company from its core.
The major source of revenue for the tech companies, especially the ones that don’t charge their users, is the data collected off the users. The data is then shared with the advertisers so that they can show you targeted advertisements. However, it is obligatory for the companies to inform the users about this before they sign up for the service. Facebook was also recently reported to have shared the users’ data with third-party companies such as Netflix, Spotify, Amazon, and Microsoft among others.
In India, the US companies have been asked to store the data locally, the deadline for which has already expired. Many companies including Google, Facebook, and Amazon have agreed for the new data localisation rule in India while some other tech companies have rather acquiesced. WhatsApp, the most popular chat app in the world, has also been asked to migrate the data to India, more so owing to the impending formal launch of its payments service.
