I wrote in Tech Policy Press about the tech industry's Tobacco-style campaign to undermine privacy and stop states from passing stronger laws.
We know that Big Tech wants to sabotage privacy law. But look at whose footsteps they're following.
Boosts 🚀 appreciated!
In sum, Big Tech is pulling straight from the toxic strategy that Big Tobacco used in the 1990s. There are 1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣ steps to the strategy.
Back then, Big Tobacco invented the "Accommodation Program," a campaign ultimately aimed at federal preemption of indoor smoking laws. 2/
Step 1️⃣:
The campaign by tobacco companies in the 90s had the same hallmarks of the tech industry's all-out assault on privacy today: an arsenal of lobbyists, front groups galore, and a state-by-state legislative strategy to pass weak laws. 3/ https://themarkup.org/privacy/2022/05/26/tech-industry-groups-are-watering-down-attempts-at-privacy-regulation-one-state-at-a-time
Step 2️⃣:
Block any possibility of future progress at the state level. To do that, both Tech and Tobacco companies shed crocodile tears about a "patchwork" of state and local laws. Then and now, that language shows up any time industry is trying to delegitimize state laws. 4/
Step 3️⃣:
For Tobacco then and Tech now, the final step is to use preemption to erase state laws and curb a state’s ability to pass new, stronger laws in the future. 5/
Where does that leave us?
Phillip Morris never succeeded in preempting states’ ability to pass anti-smoking laws.
We should be guided (and inspired) by that history, and keep fighting to keep preemption off the table for a federal privacy law. 6/6 https://www.techpolicy.press/big-tech-is-trying-to-burn-privacy-to-the-ground-and-theyre-using-big-tobaccos-strategy-to-do-it/
Jake Snow
Tom DB 🦣