Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 7 November 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Session 1: The Evidence

Mr. Roger McNamee:

That is correct. I would like to reiterate what Mr. Nimmo said a moment ago, that is, that we have passed peak ignorance on this issue. The problem is the technologies are evolving and the surveillance is becoming so much deeper with technologies such as Alexa, Google Home and the ubiquitous facial recognition that is going around the world. We should keep in mind that because these companies control information flow - people get their information by searching Google and Facebook - they have the ability to use the data they have, the voodoo dolls they have created of each person which are a digital representation, to control search results and, therefore, control the choices available to people. That business model is the reason they can migrate from advertising into replacing government functions.

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