Facebook Ordered to Stop Collecting Data on WhatsApp Users in Germany

Post by barnassey » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 3:33 PM UTC

greggman wrote: post #40

smoyer wrote: post #7

Now things are going to get interesting! I completely understand the desire for privacy but I think it's unrealistic to expect that Facebook won't consolidate its data by user across all their applications. Facebook (and Google, etc.) are now in the same business as the credit reporting agencies ... You are their only product. My hope is that the increasing outrage will drive users to one of the secure messaging appl…

I'm not sure I mind FB collecting data on my when using FB directly. OTOH today I read a 10 minute article on an unrelated site about loneliness. When I got to the end of the article an in page popup appeared that said something along the lines of "Liked by 9571 people including your friend John Smith". I was extremely creeped out. What right does FB have for knowing that I read some article on an unrelated website?…

Post by smokeyj » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 3:34 PM UTC

technofiend wrote: post #161

bikamonki wrote: post #147

You can go get an off-contract sim card, use it on a clean Android, create a fake gmail account in order to download and install Whatsapp. Now you make connections (you add family and friends to your contacts) and start communicating. By now both FB and Google know who you are simply b/c other people in your network, not concerned with privacy, have you saved on their contacts list, pressumably under your first and l…

>THERE IS NO ESCAPE. Unless you do what they themselves say you should do if you do not agree with the terms: don't use their services. Or as so many others have called out in the thread - you get legislative relief.

Post by yoghurt » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 3:37 PM UTC

wolfgke wrote: post #128

sygma wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Using the messaging service is a voluntary decision Yes, it is voluntary, but it would be socially alienating not to be on that service. Here's a relevant talk [0] by Moxie Marlinspike talking about that. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG0KrT6pBPk&feature=youtu.be...

> Yes, it is voluntary, but it would be socially alienating not to be on that service. On the other hand: Do people who care about privacy very much really get along well with people who don't and force you in subtile ways to use such a messaging service? I rather think it's the completely different mindset of these two classes of people that is socially alienating and the message service is just a symptom (I believe…

Post by BostX » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 3:39 PM UTC

throwawayReply wrote: post #2

How does this work, if I travel to Germany and use WhatsApp is Facebook compelled to delete all the shared data they have on me?

Post by tw04 » Tue, Sep 27, 2016, 3:40 PM UTC

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #167

anexprogrammer wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine the electric companies made similar arguments at the start of the 20th century. > Market dominance does not transform a proprietary product into a basic utility Agreed. Isn't it more that it becomes so ubiquitous and expected that it starts to be considered a basic utility by the public? In the case of social and IM it's the network effect that matters - where are family and friends. Once a certain tipping…

I'm doubtful. With that definition, lattes should be made a utility. So should shoes. Tires. A utility is indicated by, requiring so heavy an investment in infrastructure that would be onerous to the public to support duplicates.