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Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

theintercept.com

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Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#41

Post by Bedon292 »

nil_pointer wrote: post #24
d4l3k wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pixel trackers are just small embedded images in the email that when they are fetched from a server, the server logs it. Pretty simple way to track whether or not someone has opened an email. It's my understanding that gmail however downloads all images and then serves them from Google servers to avoid this issue entirely. Traditional email clients like Outlook/Thunderbird are susceptible to this kind of attack. That…

Variants of "pixel trackers" still work fine on Gmail despite this. To this day a lot of marketing, recruiters and others are tracking when you open their message on Gmail.

How are these variants working? Curious about how they are getting around google hitting all of them.

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#42

Post by yters »

devoply wrote: post #36
wrs wrote: post #21

Ouch. It must be really fun for Googlers to hear their company is working so hard to repress dissidents trying to reveal its secret project to help China repress dissidents.

Fact of the matter is that there is a Chinese internet and a US internet. Going forward there will be a Chinese internet, that some authoritarian countries will adopt that are a part of the Chinese sphere of influence. American companies, and the American government through them want a foothold on that internet. This is the only way for them to do so. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/20/eric-schmidt-ex-google-ceo-p...

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster." - Nietzsche

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#43

Post by tomlu »

Disclaimer: I work for Google. I also think that there is an anti-Google bias on hacker news, holding Google to a standard not applied to others and taking any excuse to roll out the same old tired rants in response to almost any Google post (DAE Google Reader etc).

If what I read is true then this is the first thing that has truly rocked my confidence that the company generally tries to do the right thing (while making money of course, we're not a charity). I expect significant internal backlash if they proceed and I hope they learn from this.

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#44

Post by dustinmoorenet »

chrischen wrote: post #35

Why is there no such outrage over google closely tacking search users in America?

Because Google doesn't come to your house, take you in for questioning and then pressuring you into confessing that you did something wrong which disturbed civil order.

Stories about what happens in China: https://chinachange.org/

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#45

Post by JoshMnem »

tapoxi wrote: post #37
JoshMnem wrote: post #34

> "The Dragonfly memo reveals that a prototype of the censored search engine was being developed as an app for both Android and iOS devices, and would force users to sign in so they could use the service. The memo confirms, as The Intercept first reported last week, that users’ searches would be associated with their personal phone number. The memo adds that Chinese users’ movements would also be stored, along with t…

Or you could just use Chromium.

Chromium has many of the same problems as Chrome. I don't think Google can be trusted to not abuse their position any more.

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#46

Post by jrockway »

gaius wrote: post #39
skybrian wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Everyone knows that you can be fired or worse if you're caught leaking. It's part of employee training and there are many reminders. (Clearly, it's not working, but this is a wake up call for nobody.)

Everyone knows that you can be fired or worse if you're caught leaking. But that’s not what’s happening. They are being reported to HR for even reading it or being aware of it. That’s why this is relevant. Just like the way Google tracks people everywhere on the web, and would gladly sell their browsing history to employers, insurers, anyone.

Do you have a link to Google's website where I can buy someone's browsing history? You did say they would sell it to anyone.

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#47

Post by devoply »

yters wrote: post #42
devoply wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fact of the matter is that there is a Chinese internet and a US internet. Going forward there will be a Chinese internet, that some authoritarian countries will adopt that are a part of the Chinese sphere of influence. American companies, and the American government through them want a foothold on that internet. This is the only way for them to do so. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/20/eric-schmidt-ex-google-ceo-p...

"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster." - Nietzsche

In terms of tracking everything and having a file on everyone Google and Western governments are already there. The only saving grace is that they don't use that information all the time to get people in trouble -- but they could, just look at the whole airport security thing. However, in terms of the ability to abuse, they are already well at par with anything China can do. And really it does not matter if they help China or not, China is more than capable of doing it all themselves given enough time. The difference will be that Western companies and governments will be left out of all of that... which to them is not good.

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#48

Post by CaptSpify »

Havoc wrote: post #31

This whole thing feels like it's going to hit Google straight in the face like a ton of bricks. At a minimum there is some serious streisand effect potential.

> This whole thing feels like it's going to hit Google straight in the face like a ton of bricks.

Does it? I feel like Google has been doing similar stuff for a long time and nobody really cares.

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#49

Post by Multicomp »

tomlu wrote: post #43

Disclaimer: I work for Google. I also think that there is an anti-Google bias on hacker news, holding Google to a standard not applied to others and taking any excuse to roll out the same old tired rants in response to almost any Google post (DAE Google Reader etc). If what I read is true then this is the first thing that has truly rocked my confidence that the company generally tries to do the right thing (while mak…

While I cannot speak for user comments after this one, nobody is referencing Google Reader here. The stakes are higher here than general "Google ain't what they was back in the Good Old Days", they are "People could be detained, tortured, (please just be hyperbole...) killed because of searches they made that were tracked by this Google Joint Venture and handed over to a repressive government".

Re: Google Suppresses Memo Revealing Plans to Closely Track Search Users in China

#50

Post by aaaaaaaaaab »

jaclaz wrote: post #10

>Emails demanding deletion of the memo contained “pixel trackers” that notified human resource managers when their messages had been read, recipients determined. This seems like the worst part (not that the rest is not bad), anyone has an idea of what this "pixel trackers" are and how they actually work?

You must be young.
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