Recent Moves to Protect Online Privacy Not Enough

Governments and corporations are rushing to protect consumers’ online privacy.  Just a few examples:

• just over a year ago, the European Union instituted a comprehensive data protection  scheme (the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR); far more profound Europe-wide regulation appear in the works
• California is set implement a scheme modeled on the GDPR, Vermont a law that requires data brokers to register with the state; other states, including Washington and New York are working on their own legislation
• several of the the tech giants, including Facebook, have announced new privacy protections and have begun to advocate for federal rules that would preempt state laws like California’s

Despite these moves, Americans remain concerned about online privacy.  In an Axio-Harris poll, it ranked above gun violence and poverty among the issues companies should be addressing.  In another poll, 58% characterized the issue as a “crisis.”

At EnCiv, we believe that consumers are right to be worried.  On the one hand, technology is increasingly able to harvest, store, and analyze personal data; on the other hand, that technology is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few large firms–firms for whom profits are king.

That is why EnCiv incorporated as a non-profit.  Never will we have an incentive to  exchange personal data for financial gain.  Always will we be free to protect our users’ identities–in the name of both privacy and robust civic discussion.