Well, here’s some pretty surprising news. The Electronic Frontier Foundation has released their annual Who Has Your Back report that focuses on consumer data security. More specifically, it rates companies based on how well they secure and protect sensitive consumer data.
Take a moment and make one quick guess about who’s on top.
If you guessed that it was our beloved Google, well then you’re right! Google and Twitter actually sit at the top of the list, while Dropbox and LinkedIN also sit nearby. Oddly, the list isn’t organized by score.
When you use the Internet, you entrust your conversations, thoughts, experiences, locations, photos, and more to companies like Google, AT&T and Facebook. But what do these companies do when the government demands your private information? Do they stand with you? Do they let you know what’s going on?
Apple, AT&T, and Yahoo actually scored the worst. Go figure. All three of those companies are terrible when it comes to protecting your personal data, but the good news is that they will fight for your rights in court, or when they’re up against congress. At least there’s that.
Twitter and Sonic.net are the only two companies that received a perfect score.
Myspace (I had no clue it was still around) got one of the worst scores because the company received no marks. Not surprisingly, Verizon also missed every mark which actually has me quite alarmed. I have wireless service through Verizon, and in light of this information I’m a little worried now.
Check out the source link for yourself if you want to peruse the entire score chart. There are several other companies on there like Comcast, Microsoft, WordPress, Tumblr and more.
If you’re wondering how the EFF determined these scores, they outlined the process in full detail:
We compiled the information in this report by examining each company’s published terms of service, privacy policy, transparency report, and guidelines for law enforcement requests, if any. We also considered the company’s public record of fighting for user privacy in the courts and whether it is a member of the Digital Due Process coalition, which encourages Congress to improve outdated communications law. Finally, we contacted each company to explain our findings and gave them an opportunity to provide evidence of improved policies and practices. These categories are not the only ways that a company can stand up for users, of course, but they are important and publicly verifiable. In addition, not every company has faced a decision about whether to stand up for users in the courts, but we wanted to particularly commend those companies who have done so when given with the opportunity.
Source: EFF