Congress Concerned about Privacy: Silk Browser

[kennyc]

Congress Targets Amazon's Silk Browser

By John P. Mello Jr., PCWorld Oct 15, 2011 10:36 AM

Amazon's innovative Silk web browser hasn't left the cocoon yet, but it's already being questioned by members of Congress concerned about online privacy.

Texas Republican Joe Barton expressed outrage about the browser at a public hearing this week, while Massachusetts Democrat Ed Markey pressed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for some answers about what his company will do with the data collected from Silk users.
Joe Barton (R-Texas)

"Every week...we hear some additional outrage about the abuse of the Internet," declared Barton at a hearing Thursday on consumer attitudes toward privacy before the U.S. House subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade.

"My staff yesterday told me that one of our leading Internet companies, Amazon, is going to create their own server and their own system and they're going to force everybody that uses Amazon to go through their server and they're going to collect all this information on each person who does that without that person's knowledge," he said.. "Enough is enough."
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More:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/24198...k_browser.html

[howyoudoin]

Wait, isn't this what Opera mini does already? Were the congressmen living under a rock all these years?

[kennyc]

Amazon is a behemoth.... Opera mini was below the radar.

[rhadin]

Hmmm! I wonder if the Congressmen read my blog article of October 5, titled Privacy in the World of Silk? The least they could do is give me credit .

I suspect, howyoudoin, that the reason why they are concerned with Amazon but not with Opera mini is that Opera mini barely registers on the U.S. browser scene, but anything Amazon does puts its tentacles out widely in the U.S. and affects a lot of people. Additionally, Opera, if it were gathering and selling the data, would sell it to every interested party because it has no retail interest, but Amazon will not sell the data but will use it to gain a competitive advantage over other retailers, perhaps an unfair advantage.

Additionally, I suspect as Amazon continues to enter new retailing and publishing venues, the worry about monopolization rears its head.

[HarryT]

There's an option to use the Silk browser in a "direct" mode, should one not wish to get the benefits of server-side rendering. Really, this is all nonsense from a bunch of people who haven't a clue what they're talking about.

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There's an option to use the Silk browser in a "direct" mode, should one not wish to get the benefits of server-side rendering. Really, this is all nonsense from a bunch of people who haven't a clue what they're talking about.

Yeah, but our government is here to protect us from ourselves.

[howyoudoin]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Hmmm! I wonder if the Congressmen read my blog article of October 5, titled Privacy in the World of Silk? The least they could do is give me credit .

I suspect, howyoudoin, that the reason why they are concerned with Amazon but not with Opera mini is that Opera mini barely registers on the U.S. browser scene, but anything Amazon does puts its tentacles out widely in the U.S. and affects a lot of people. Additionally, Opera, if it were gathering and selling the data, would sell it to every interested party because it has no retail interest, but Amazon will not sell the data but will use it to gain a competitive advantage over other retailers, perhaps an unfair advantage.

Additionally, I suspect as Amazon continues to enter new retailing and publishing venues, the worry about monopolization rears its head.

Ah, k. That makes sense.

[Rob Lister]

How is this different than AOL?

[kennyc]

What do you mean? wrt AOL?

Originally Posted by kennyc

"My staff yesterday told me that one of our leading Internet companies, Amazon, is going to create their own server and their own system and they're going to force everybody that uses Amazon to go through their server and they're going to collect all this information on each person who does that without that person's knowledge," he said.. "Enough is enough."

Typical election year rhetoric from a dumba$$ USA politician who couldn't find himself in the dark if his life depended on it. I can throw a rock and hit his political office from where I live, so I know this guy's politics and he really isn't very smart. He got so much wrong in that paragraph.

My staff yesterday told me that one of our leading Internet companies, Amazon, is going to create their own server and their own system and they're going to force everybody that uses Amazon to go through their server... Incorrect: Applies only to KFire owners and they can opt out.

...they're going to collect all this information on each person who does that without that person's knowledge... Incorrect and paranoid: Amazon is up front about the server and this argument that Amazon secretly gathers all our Kindle data (from K1 through current models) and uses it for evil is stupid and getting rather old.

Enough is enough. True! I wish my fellow Texans would finally vote this worthless politician into unemployment.

[Jhary]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Amazon is a behemoth.... Opera mini was below the radar.

I Thought it coud be because Amazon is a No Software Company.

But what is with Google and Facebook?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Jhary

I Thought i coud be because Amazon is a Not American Company and Opera is US.

What do you mean? Amazon is an American company.

Barton is from Texas, and Texas is struggling with the downfall in the economy. The Republicans have dominated politics here for at least two decades and our economy is suffering in a huge way. They would love nothing more than to sink their grubby little claws into Amazon's empire and start charging state sales on every item Amazon sells in Texas. They can only collect state sales tax on items sold by companies with a brick and mortar presence within the state, so items sold and shipped directly through Amazon are exempt from tax. For books, as an example, some publishers are located in Texas so we pay tax on their books, while others have no presence here and thus we don't pay tax. It is a huge amount of revenue for the state which is at stake. I think this is just Barton's way of trying to make Amazon seem like an evil empire in a lame attempt to turn public opinion against them. We the public are not that stupid and will fight any state sales tax on items sold by Amazon with NO connection to companies that have a presence in Texas.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by jswinden

They can only collect state sales tax on items sold by companies with a brick and mortar presence within the state, so items sold and shipped directly through Amazon are exempt from tax. For books, as an example, some publishers are located in Texas so we pay tax on their books, while others have no presence here and thus we don't pay tax. It is a huge amount of revenue for the state which is at stake. I think this is just Barton's way of trying to make Amazon seem like an evil empire in a lame attempt to turn public opinion against them. We the public are not that stupid and will fight any state sales tax on items sold by Amazon with NO connection to companies that have a presence in Texas.

Surely you are liable for the tax anyway, but are choosing to evade it?
The question is not whether the tax is payable, but who should collect it.

[gweminence]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There's an option to use the Silk browser in a "direct" mode, should one not wish to get the benefits of server-side rendering. Really, this is all nonsense from a bunch of people who haven't a clue what they're talking about.

This.