Government requires thousands (literally) of people and political will in order to move any solution forward. In terms of cost and time, it is substantially less efficient than independent entities.

An independent entity could theoretically start immediately, with a small team, and focus explicitly on the stated goals of the team.

> Apple shouldn't be getting plaudits for making privacy a unique selling proposition.

Absolutely agree. The average citizen has no idea how hard they're being exploited.

> Privacy should be a right, the control of my personal information should be mine and consent to have it should be able to be withdrawn at any time.

Also agree, but the government has shown they have an interest in making that not happen. The ties between 3 letter agencies and large tech companies are just the tip of that iceberg.

In the UK the soil association is a private charity which mostly decides which food is "organic" and which food is not and it does a pretty good job. In the US, the USDA decides whether you can call your food organic and from what I understand it's kind of meaningless.

I think a private charity would work better here.

The formation of something new, and independent, means it would also be less susceptible to corruption.

Given that this is one of the primary purposes of governments, what do you suppose has been keeping them from stepping in so far?