Consumer Choice Center’s comment on the US government’s proposed KYC regulations for cloud servers
Earlier this year, the US Department of Commerce proposed a sweeping regulatory rule that would force cloud service providers to collect and retain personal information on their users, particularly those based outside the United States. This regulation, prompted by President Joe Biden’s Executive Orders on the “National Emergency With Respect to Significant Malicious Cyber-Enabled Activities,” […]
A new federal privacy bill overdoses on empowering agencies over helping consumers
Late last week, a discussion draft of a new federal privacy bill was uploaded to the cloud server of the US Senate Commerce Committee and made public. The bill, known as the American Privacy Rights Act, is the latest serious attempt by a bipartisan cohort of congressional legislators to address Americans’ privacy rights online, as […]
TikTok banni en Europe ?
Que signifie l’interdiction potentielle de TikTok pour l’Europe ? La Chambre des représentants des Etats-Unis a récemment adopté un projet de loi qui obligerait le propriétaire du réseau de médias sociaux TikTok à vendre ses activités aux Etats-Unis à une entreprise américaine. Selon ce projet de loi, soutenu par le président Biden, ByteDance aurait six mois […]
FCC’s plan to make your Internet a ‘public utility’ will only make it worse
WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the Federal Communications Commission revived its proposal to reclassify Internet providers as public utilities under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934, commonly known as “net neutrality.” The FCC vote will take place on April 25. This marks a step back for all American Internet users, who have thus […]
Litigation Finance Exposes Our Judicial System to Foreign Exploitation
Now that Congress has come to its senses about a forced divestiture plan to uncouple TikTok from the Chinese Communist Party, we’d be remiss not to explore other examples of how powers such as China influence American institutions. Let’s look at our justice system. In a handful of local court cases around the country, a Shenzhen-based firm has been […]
DOJ’s Apple “monopoly” lawsuit is an attack on consumer preference
Washington, D.C. – Today the DOJ unveiled its long-awaited antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging that Apple maintains an “illegal monopoly” over the smartphone industry. “This is a very extreme position being taken by Merrick Garland’s DOJ,“ said Stephen Kent, media director of the Consumer Choice Center, “The lawsuit claims that Apple throttles the use of third-party messaging apps despite […]
Forcing TikTok’s divestiture from the CCP is both reasonable and necessary
Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, a bipartisan group of US House legislators introduced a bill that would force ByteDance Ltd. to sell its US version of TikTok or face massive fines and federal investigations. This would have big ramifications for the video-sharing app, which is estimated to have over 150 million users in the US. In […]
The best smartphones for teens to stay connected and protected
When Republicans and Democrats come together on something in Washington, D.C., rest assured that it’s an expansion of their power at the expense of yours. The Kids Online Safety Act, sponsored by Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), now boasts 62 Senate cosponsors, making it very likely to pass in the coming weeks. KOSA […]
Kids Online Safety Act May be a Threat to Privacy
The Kids Online Safety Act, recently reintroduced by a group of bipartisan US Senators, is being criticized as a potential gateway to digital censorship rather than genuine protection for minors online. Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, a Washington, D.C. based consumer advocacy group, argues that the bill poses constitutional concerns and […]
‘Green bubble’ texts are not the FCC’s problem to solve
When iPhone users see a green bubble pop up in their text messages, it has a way of dulling the experience. Emoji reactions, Facetime video calls, or even high-quality images over WiFi are immediately broken once a green-bubbled Android user slides into a group thread. This is the reality of Apple’s iMessage protocol, the default […]
‘Kids Online Safety Act’ is a Trojan Horse For Digital Censorship
Washington, D.C. – This week, a bipartisan cohort of US Senators unveiled a new version of the Kids Online Safety Act, a bill that aims to impose various restrictions and requirements on technology platforms used by both adults and minors. Yaël Ossowski, deputy director of the Consumer Choice Center, a consumer advocacy group based in […]
Virginia youth social media law would cause online chaos and diminish parental authority
Richmond, VA – In the name of “safety” and the “best interests” of children, the Virginia Senate this week passed a draconian age-verification bill for online platforms which would require youth who want to use social media to provide exhaustive proof of their age and to seek parental consent. This legislation is not as common-sense […]
