Online privacy as a basic consumer right

Apple’s reiteration of its right to privacy amid its highly publicised strife against the FBI and the Justice Department signifies one important fact. If big brands can do it, consumers — the lifeblood of all commerce — deserve it, too.

Tim Cook believes that succumbing to the orders of the federal government will pave the way for future consequences concerning digital security and privacy. Soon, all brands will be forced not only to create special system access for the government, which could be an entry point for hackers but also divulge customer information, which can lead to graver quandaries down the road.

Most regular consumers think they’re only handing over a minuscule slice of their information to companies requiring such for sign-up and membership purposes. However, these companies not only use this to identify one’s billing statement or purchasing capabilities. The information being sent to it are utilised fully well for many aspects of their operations.

It is also used for marketing existing and future product and services and for determining which campaign would work in a particular niche or segment. Tech brands, for instance, use this data to design algorithms for determining user demographics, preferences and browsing history. This methodology is essential in the likes of giant brands like Spotify or Facebook , as well as emerging curated service-focused brands like Born2Invest and Spring , in providing tailored content to a specific customer or niche.

It’s a bit different with Internet Service Providers (ISPs), however. Tom Wheeler, chairman of Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said that giving your information to an ISP is a lot different from just signing up for a website or a promo. ISPs obtain full access to all the customers’ network data.

All the usernames, passwords, secret questions or captcha logs that a consumer uses to buy an app, open an existing bank account, try a new service, sign up for a social media account will be saved to their database. Nothing is hidden from ISPs, even encrypted data, even private conditions or financial problems shared via email or determined through browsing history.

As of today, there is no clear indication whether these ISPs are capable of protecting customer data from hackers, or how long they can sustain their existing privacy protection systems given that hacking technology continues to improve every day. Another question is if they’re really protecting consumers’ identity.

The problem lies in the existing FCC rulings. Today, consumers do not know where these ISPs use their information, let alone have a say over this prevalent practice. Wheeler strongly believes that every consumer deserves to know. While big brands like Apple seem to have the clout to voice out its position on the matter, as it is capable of ignoring orders from giant entities such as federal officials, consumers remain powerless over stopping or allowing brands on using their personal information.

The latest FCC ruling will see Wheeler’s desire to require ISPs asking for consumer consent before utilising their information for various purposes. With this, ISPs are required to ask for consumers’ permission, and a blatant “no” from the latter would leave them without a choice but to take their hands off whatever information they have. ISPs should also be transparent in terms of telling consumers where exactly they would use their private information, and this would be done through an “opt-in” consent delivered to all internet service account holders.

The new rules are yet to be implemented, but FCC’s willingness to adhere to the growing needs of safeguarding consumer privacy is very laudable. The agency just showed the country that they acknowledge the undeniable truth that online privacy is now a basic consumer right, and that it should be automatically given to all online and paying customers entrusting their personal information to telcos and network providers.

Indeed, FCC’s latest move on restructuring its existing rules may have been an upshot of various petitions on treating online privacy as a basic consumer right. However, it could also result to and initiate wider campaigns that would encourage brands—social media sites, app developers, or even non-tech brands—to obtain permission from the customers first before using their personal data for whatever purpose. Or perhaps encourage them to consider consumer’s right to privacy before launching a campaign, a product, or a service as, after all, behind these brands are online consumers, too.