Advocating for a Ban on Surveillance Capitalism
Please consider joining me in writing to your member of parliament (can be found here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en), regarding legislation regulating/banning surveillance capitalism.
My MP is the honorable David McGuinty. Here is what I have sent to him, please feel free to use it as a template and to modify it for yourself. I have sent it to his email at: david.mcguinty@parl.gc.ca
But it can also be sent (no postage necessary) to:
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada
K1A 0A6
Dear Honorable David McGuinty,
I am writing to you as a concerned citizen, mother, psychiatrist and member of your riding. I am an advocate for digital privacy and human rights as I see the impacts of how social media impacts my children and my patients. I urge you to consider the urgent need for legislation that bans surveillance capitalism, a practice that commodifies personal data, exploits individuals' vulnerabilities, and undermines the very foundations of democracy.
I am asking for legislation, similar to the General Data Protection Regulation (or GDPR) of the European Union, to be created and enforced in Canada protecting our right to know what of our data is being collected by large technology corporations and how this data is being used. I would like legislation that gives each individual Canadian the control to properly consent or deny these companies access and use of our data.
Surveillance capitalism allows companies to continue to program their services to be increasingly addictive. Many social media platforms have robbed upwards of 8-10 hours a day from my patients. Patients with mental health issues and young people are particularly vulnerable and have the most to lose. Social media replaces other healthier forms of coping and building a sense of self and community. All the while, the longer they are on their devices, the more data is being extracted from them without their knowledge. This data is then sold to third parties who do not have my patients' best interests at heart.
On a societal level, evidence has surfaced of how political campaigns have used surveillance capitalism to target and successfully change the political opinions of millions of Facebook users (e.g. Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2019). Even more sinister, our data has been sold to companies who use this information to train programs in face recognition so that minority groups can be identified and oppressed by authoritarian regimes.
Now more than ever, Canada needs to be a leader and model for the world of a just, and healthy democracy where consumer data is not allowed to be extracted and used for the profit of large firms at the expense of the mental health and wellbeing of its citizens. Canada must do all it can to protect itself from whatever forces that undermine the values of our great nation, and it must do this now.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sarah Chan
For more information on this issue:
What is Surveillance Capitalism?
Surveillance Capitalism refers to an economic system where companies collect and analyze vast amongst of personal data to predict and influence use behavior for profit. This practice often occurs without explicit consent and with minimal transparency, leading to significant ethical and privacy concerns.
Some resources to check out:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook%E2%80%93Cambridge_Analytica_data_scandal#Data_use
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIXhnWUmMvw
https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Age_of_Surveillance_Capitalism/lRqrDQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Stolen_Focus/uC0rEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0
Please consider boycotting Facebook:
In essence, time and again, Facebook has been aware of the ill-effects of its platform and have done nothing about it. Instead they run experiments on their users to discover ways of keeping us on the platform as long as possible and to see how they might manipulate our feelings, thoughts and behaviors. The latest news, that Facebook is allowing its chatbot to engage in more sexualized dialogue withOUT protections for minors was the final straw for me. I am hardly active on Facebook, but will be working to deactivate my account as soon as possible.