U.S. Tech Platforms Falling Behind Non-U.S. Tech Platforms on Data Transparency, Event Hears

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2022 – Big technology platforms in the United States should look to European and Asian companies for a model in data transparency, said observers at a New America event on Wednesday discussing the future of corporate accountability to New America.

The think tank said in a report that non-U.S. platforms such as Yandex, Baidu, Tencent, Kakao, VK, Alibaba are ahead of U.S. platforms in their data accountability reports related to online transparency and security.

“Companies aren’t telling us enough about how they develop and deploy algorithms, or enforce their rules for disclosing data breaches,” said the New America report.

The panelists said at Wednesday’s event that risk assessment and independent auditing on big technology companies are needed to properly evaluate big tech activity.

Katarzyna Szymielewicz, president of Polish non-governmental organization Panoptykon Foundation, said that social media platforms will be expected to self-assess to provide real data. “If they do these assessments right, we will no longer need whistleblowing” she added.

Facebook has been under pressure since reports about its internal research showed its platforms can harm the mental health of children, but allegedly did not do much about it.