RFOB Welcomes Policies and Recommendations Outlined in White House Executive Order
The Real Facebook Oversight Board welcomes the executive order President Biden signed on Friday titled “Promoting Competition in the American Economy.” The executive order aims to rein in Facebook (and others) mass accumulation of users data, provide greater scrutiny over mergers, and establish competition rules on the online marketplace. These are all important steps to curtailing Facebook’s market dominance and surveillance-based business model. The following statements are from board members of the Real Facebook Oversight Board:
Jessica Gonzalez, RFOB Board Member — I’m pleased that President Biden’s executive order recognizes that “Big Tech platforms are gathering too much personal information” and that their “business models have depended on the accumulation of extraordinary amounts of sensitive personal information and related data.” I also hope that the FTC will take up his suggestions to establish rules on surveillance and the accumulation of data. We know that disinformation and hate proliferate online because they are hyper-targeted to people based on their personalities, sensibilities, and vulnerabilities as determined by online platforms’ surveillance of their users. Curtailing the rampant privacy abuses that are foundational to the business models of these companies, such as Facebook, is one important way to hold Big Tech accountable.
David Carroll, RFOB Board Member— The preliminary details of the executive order demonstrate that the president understands that exploitation of data privacy is a means to an end: power.
Marietje Schaake, RFOB Board Member— The executive order is a promising step towards making sure big tech does not write the governance rules but that checks and balances exist. I'll be looking forward to seeing how the FTC takes on the task of regulating data assembly and surveillance. Those provisions go to the heart of Big Tech’s business models.
Roger McNamee, RFOB Board Member — This is a welcome and necessary first step by the Biden administration. Concentrated economic power has undermined liberty and democracy, and only the federal government has the power to reign in corporations and repair the damage. The ball is now in Congress's court to give regulatory agencies new tools to deliver on Biden’s vision.
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