<div dir="ltr">bringing more info to the table, this may be useful as a background info <div><a href="https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/cdt-brings-together-major-internet-companies-advocates-demand-more-transparency-around-">https://www.cdt.org/pr_statement/cdt-brings-together-major-internet-companies-advocates-demand-more-transparency-around-</a><br>
</div><div><br></div><div>and the letter</div><div><br></div><div><a href="https://www.cdt.org/files/pdfs/weneedtoknow-transparency-letter.pdf">https://www.cdt.org/files/pdfs/weneedtoknow-transparency-letter.pdf</a><br></div>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Dec 9, 2013 at 7:10 PM, Mike Godwin (<a href="mailto:mgodwin@INTERNEWS.ORG">mgodwin@INTERNEWS.ORG</a>) <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:mgodwin@internews.org" target="_blank">mgodwin@internews.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Mishi quotes the Times:<br>
<div class="im"><br>
<br>
>"While the Internet companies fight to maintain authority over their<br>
>customers¹ data, their business models depend on collecting the same<br>
>information that the spy agencies want, and they have long cooperated<br>
>with the government to some extent by handing over data in response to<br>
>legal requests.<br>
<br>
</div>This statement strikes me as disingenuously oversimplistic on the Times¹s<br>
part ‹ specifically, in saying that the Internet companies are collecting<br>
³the same information that the spy agencies want.² Yes, the agencies want<br>
the data the companies have, but the companies are gathering data about<br>
consumption and viewing patterns, primarily. What the agencies want is<br>
traffic and association analysis, and they know they can draw inferences<br>
if they have large datasets.<br>
<br>
This may seem like a subtle distinction, but really it¹s not. It¹s like<br>
saying ³I listen to changes in the tone of your voice when you speak to<br>
me, and so does the snooping spy who wiretaps your phone, and therefore,<br>
implicitly, the spy and I are both culpable somehow.²<br>
<br>
What I perceive in all this is an attempt to muddy the issue and<br>
delegitimize the internet companies¹ sincere efforts to build and/or<br>
restore consumer trust. I¹m critical of the companies from time to time<br>
(and there are times when I¹m mostly critical of what all the companies<br>
are doing), but to me the real analysis here is that governments have<br>
opportunistically taken advantage of what the companies have been<br>
gathering, most of the time in good faith, from users.<br>
<div class="im"><br>
>The new principles outlined by the companies contain little information<br>
>and few promises about their own practices, which privacy advocates say<br>
>contribute to the government¹s desire to tap into the companies¹ data<br>
>systems.<br>
><br>
>³The companies are placing their users at risk by collecting and<br>
>retaining so much information,² said Marc Rotenberg, president and<br>
>executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a<br>
>nonprofit research and advocacy organization. ³As long as this much<br>
>personal data is collected and kept by these companies, they are always<br>
</div>>going to be the target of government collection efforts.²<br>
<br>
I take Marc at his word, as always, but the fact is that if the companies<br>
cut their data gathering in half ‹ or even by a factor of 10 or 100 ‹<br>
governments will want to engage in bulk collection and interception. The<br>
key approach, in my view, is to try to reduce the demand-side (by<br>
regulating what governments can do) rather conflate it with the supply<br>
side (the fact that commercial enterprises gather data from actual and<br>
potential customers (or for them).<br>
<br>
<br>
‹Mike, speaking only for myself<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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<b>Carolina Rossini</b> </div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.666666984558105px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><i>Project Director, Latin America Resource Center</i></div><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136);font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.666666984558105px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)">
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