Tech News: Customs is Spying On Us, Google Loses EU Appeal
Today, I’d like to bring up two pieces of news that I find it important but, perhaps, not entirely deserving of a whole write-up by themselves. Instead, here are quick overviews on the matter and my thoughts on them.
Customs Has Your Data
Traveling is great and, though airports aren’t usually super-pleasant, we bear it and don’t think too hard about the inconveniences of the TSA checks, the luggage mishaps and other minor headaches. However, all that pales in comparison to the recent discovery: employees of the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have been collecting all data from travelers’ phones, tablets and laptops. To reiterate, this means you. Not some people on FBI lists or those who were in trouble with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), just regular travelers, who had the misfortune of passing through our border checkpoints. This means travel by land, air and sea, so whether you flew to Cancun, took a drive out to Canada or a cruise to Europe, your data is now stored in a massive database, which DHS has full access to. The agents reportedly collect info from as many as 10,000 devices every year.
Now, you might say, that’s alright, it’s not some random people, it’s the Department of Security, it’s fine. But guess who has access to the database? 2,700 CBP officers, who don’t even need a warrant to look at your private information. To add insult to injury, this database of regular people’s very private information is called “the Automated Targeting System”, even though it’s doing no targeting whatsoever while your data is taken without you, there’s no distinction between a possible terror suspect and a father of two taking his family to Vancouver.
While the data collection is troubling to me, it’s the warrantless access to the database that truly bothers me. Having easy access to thousands of US citizens’ private data is not something that should be this easy. In fact, it shouldn’t be a thing at all.
Google’s Appeal Goes Bust, Faces $4.12 Billion Fine
Back in 2018, that year before the world truly went wrong, the EU issued a $5 billion fine to Google on antitrust grounds. The regulators said Google was giving itself an unfair advantage by forcing Android phone makers to pre-install Google services and apps on all devices. Google filed an appeal and now, four years down the line, the results are in and they are not in favor of the tech giant.
The final decision is that Google still has to pay a fine, just a mildly reduced one — $4.12 billion. The verdict is the same though and Google is still trying to defend its forcing of Chrome and Google Search on Android users by saying that iPhones come with some apps pre-installed as well. This left the courts unimpressed as the recent verdict called the fine “appropriate in view of the significance of the infringement.” Perhaps it would have been cheaper to just not install Chrome on Android devices but, then again, when has Google gone for the rational over the money-making?
This is the biggest fine levied on Google so far and it’s likely to not be the last one. Time will tell if the numbers will keep increasing or if the EU will issue smaller fines as the corporations complain and try to appeal through the courts more and more. I’d anticipate more news of this sort in the coming years as lawmakers crack down on Google and Apple’s monopolistic practices.
