Today’s Internet Not ‘sustainable,’ Experts Warn… GoogleFacebook Dominate, Privacy Under Assault, ‘ad Platform Manipulated’

via WND:

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The digital world has been flooded with concerns in recent months over the power of the giant tech companies, particularly Google and Facebook, to control the flow of information.

Conservatives in America have expressed alarm, and in Europe, a leader of the Brexit movement has accused Facebook of “doctoring” the news.

Now Congress has been told that the “digital ecosystem” that exists today is unworkable.

“Two companies dominate the market. The privacy of internet users is under assault. The revenue model that sustained journalism is broken. The ad platforms are manipulated by foreign adversaries. Secrecy and complexity are increasing as accountability is diminished,” said the Electronic Privacy Information Center in a statement delivered to members of Congress.

“It would be foolish to imagine that the current model is sustainable.”

The statement was delivered to members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce & Consumer Protection in connection with a hearing on the “ecosystem.”

The letter explained: “Today’s digital advertising techniques are very different from traditional advertising models. In the analog world, consumers could readily identify the placement of an ad, the source and its purpose. There was little need for advertisers to gather personal data from users. Perhaps most critically, advertising supported editorial content. Advertising made possible the publication of daily news. Traditional advertising sustained a healthy ecosystem that also made possible the production of news without government subsidy. Much of that has changed,” the letter said.

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