Akhil Damani '25

Recently President Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the U.S. and EU have struck a deal to open up transatlantic data flows. This deal is music to the ears of big tech companies like Meta who want to expand their operations in Europe. With big tech seemingly growing more powerful by the day, regulators are struggling to keep them in check, leading to rising concerns surrounding the issue of user data privacy.

Brought to the forefront of people’s attention during the 2020 election, big tech has had a strong hold over user data and the information technology market. With user data being the driving force behind a roughly 450-billion-dollar digital ad market it is clear to see big tech’s potential for exploiting personal data. 

Most of the scrutiny regarding user privacy issues has been directed toward social media platforms such as Tik Tok. With an attempted ban by President Trump, Tik Tok has had its fair share of controversy including multiple settled lawsuits, regarding their collection of user data and a newly initiated nationwide investigation by several attorneys general.       

While Tik Tok may be the only one currently in the limelight other big tech firms have also had run-ins with data privacy violations, Facebook being a prime example. Just this month, Meta, the parent company for Facebook, was fined 17 million dollars for breaking privacy laws in the EU. Not to mention Facebook has had multiple accusations of data misuse and privacy violations in the past.

The use of personal data by big tech is not without its harmful effects on its customers, with many customers even experiencing being in an echo chamber. An echo chamber is a term used to describe a user’s warped view of reality through social media and other online platforms. Algorithms used by online platforms implement user data to provide the user with personalized content. Unfortunately, this sort of model has been shown to radicalize and polarize individuals.       

As we transition into an increasingly digital world, we can only expect big techs combined market cap of around 6 trillion dollars to become even larger. While it may seem like there is no stopping big tech, there is still hope in protecting personal data privacy and limiting the power of these tech powerhouses.

Strong international powers such as the EU are starting to tighten their grip on big tech through the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This act puts tighter regulations on how companies can use personal data. Additionally, the DMA will lessen the control of tech giants on the market through potential fines and even company breakups.  

Along with acts being passed by the government, there has been an emergence of startups that are taking a new approach to data privacy. These startups are seeking to give users control over their data and even benefit from it. This effort is being led by Frank McCourt who founded Project Liberty in the hopes of redesigning the digital world that is controlled by the users.

Blockchain plays a huge role in McCourt’s vision for reclaiming power for the people. Essentially a user’s data would be stored on the blockchain and whenever an online platform wants to use the data it would have to request access from the user. This keeps one company from storing all the user data while simultaneously allowing users to be paid for giving out their data. While there are still a lot of hurdles to overcome before this sort of digital world can become a reality it has a very promising future.

For the foreseeable future, big tech will continue to be a huge presence in the digital world. However, with government intervention and the emergence of innovations, people now hope to regain control of their data and privacy.    

Sources:

EU agrees on new digital rules to rein in Big Tech dominance - ABC News (go.com)

Big Tech Is Even Bigger Than You Think: $2.7 Trillion Apple Is Now Worth 11 Disneys | Charts (msn.com)

Social media: A tool for peace or conflict? | SIPRI

Facebook fined €17m for data privacy laws breach - BBC News

Personal Data Is Worth Billions. These Startups Want You to Get a Cut. - WSJ

EU and US agree to new data-transfer pact to replace Privacy Shield (cnbc.com)