Rebel Tech AllianceWhat is a better way?
"OK so Big Tech are toxic, surveillance capitalism is toxic. What's the alternative"Anti-trust law - Amnesty Internation weighs in
There have been efforts in the USA under the Biden administration to implement Anti-Trust (anti-monopoly) law against big tech. There was limited success but under Trump this doesn't look hopeful. The EU is also looking at this but the lobbying is so strong that who knows if there will be any success. A broader approach that factors in human rights is needed, and in August 2025 Amnesty International published a paper stating this:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/POL30/0226/2025/en/
In the meantime, it's down to us - the people
A big part of the problem with Big Tech products and services is that they are closed boxes (proprietary) and under their centralised control. On top of that their business model, surveillance capitalism, incentivises businesses to build products that destroy privacy. And of course they have effectively built monopolies.
But in the meantime we can adobt better habits to stop feeding their surveillance machine:
1. Say no to cookies!
Whenever you see the cookie popup on a website, asking you if you accept cookies or not, SAY NO! To do this you simply have to click SAVE SETTINGS, or DECLINE. Under GDPR companies are required to keep the default setting to off for the major data harvesting settings, so clicking SAVE SETTINGS results in closing the banner with the consent toggles turned off.
2. Turn off app permissions and Advertising ID in your phone
The most important permissions for data leakage are Location, Microphone and Contacts. But check them all in the Permissions Manager in your phone's settings. Only allow an app if really necessary, and even then set it to 'only when using the app'.
You can delete the Advertising ID in Android phones by going to 'Settings / Security and Privacy / More privacy settings / Ads' and delete your advertising ID.
Phones vary so here are some instuctions for Android and iPhone: https://ingenuitydisplay.com/how-to-disable-the-identification-for-advertising.html