Exiled NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden who is currently in Russia likened the ‘social media’ to ‘surveillance companies’ and said that the rebranding is the most successful deception since 1949.
Snowden in a tweet on Saturday said, “Businesses that make money by collecting and selling detailed records of private lives were once plainly described as "surveillance companies."
“Their rebranding as "social media" is the most successful deception since the Department of War became the Department of Defense,” he added.
The Department of War was an organ of US government which managed the armed forces of the country. It was renamed Department of Defense in 1949.
His message was a dig at the personal information of users which the social media portals collect in order to “provide, understand, and improve our Services.”
As per the Twitter policy document, “Irrespective of which country you live in, you authorize us (Twitter) to transfer, store, and use your information in the United States, Ireland, and any other country where we operate. In some of these countries, the privacy and data protection laws and rules regarding when government authorities may access data may vary from those in the country where you live.”
Snowden’s attack was on the clause which gives de facto power to social media organisations over the user information. Social media companies (and almost every for-profit internet company) earn a major share of their revenues by selling the data to third parties.
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