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I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

nytimes.com

161–170 of 341 posts

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#162
We, in the US at least, need a privacy Bill of Rights.

Electronic transmission of personally identifiable information and the storage and mining of that data has so many permutations, and technology is so far ahead of legislation consistently, it seems like it’s time for a proper governance framework that exceeds any particular industry, and that has to be based around the individual (I think, there’s more to that).

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#163
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect we as a society need new legislation to deal with these sort of issues. Before, much of this was incredibly difficult to impossible so legislation and regulation was entirely avoidable and relatively rare occurence could be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. At this point, technology has enabled this sort of behavior at mass scale, now revealing far more personal and useful information about individuals. A…

> I suspect we as a society need new legislation to deal with these sort of issues. Why not ban targeted advertising altogether?

The use-case isn’t advertising, it’s QoS. So you collect the data and give your best customers fast access, or maybe you balance it out: your most complaining customers get preferential treatment and the most reasonable wait a little longer on the line because you know they won’t complain.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#166
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does your link support your assertion of corruption?

The link doesn't. The experience you will have if you actually go try to start a bank will. I only provided the link to point you to the entrance of the rabbit hole.

I don't see how the fact that the process of becoming a bank is strictly regulated means that it's corrupt?

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For example, checking if you ever had an account at companies mentioned in your data takeout - to spot if someone does shit while using your name/personal information, or some incompetent/malicious clerk mixed up data.

That doesn't verify any data though. At most, it implies a likelihood of having an account, but nothing about the specific data.

If they're uncertain of your middle name for instance, uploading your ID just confirms that they had it right or wrong.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#168

> When I told Mr. Tan that I was alarmed to see my Airbnb messages and Yelp orders in the hands of a company I’d never heard of before, he responded by saying that Sift doesn’t sell or share any of the data it has with third parties. What a line to say with a straight face. They are the third party that he's uncomfortable sharing his data with!

And the first party in the situation is being referred to as the third party.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#169
post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect we as a society need new legislation to deal with these sort of issues. Before, much of this was incredibly difficult to impossible so legislation and regulation was entirely avoidable and relatively rare occurence could be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. At this point, technology has enabled this sort of behavior at mass scale, now revealing far more personal and useful information about individuals. A…

So I originally studied chemical engineering, and one of the common catchphrases is, "regulations are written in blood." The reason there's a requirement to put a pressure relief valve on that tank is because at some point a tank like it didn't have one and it blew up and killed people. However, safety in chemical engineering has been evolving over centuries as we have understood more about the dangers and consequenc…

Another interpretation of that catchphrase is that once it's written, it can't be unwritten, and that's true with laws, or at least they've very difficult to change once on the books.

We need to understand the full scope of the problem, rather than try to fix what isn't fully grasped, and honestly I have very little faith in the US government to accurately grasp the subtleties and nuances of the advertising and privacy problems.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#170

God help these companies if they're collecting data on EU citizens. Contrary to what is posted elsewhere here, GDPR applies to: "a company established outside the EU and is offering goods/services (paid or for free) or is monitoring the behaviour of individuals in the EU." Enforcement might be difficult, but I'm sure that associated entities have interests in Europe as well.. I'm sure it's been fully risk-assessed an…

We American citizens who are EU residents need to get our act together and balance out the disadvantages that come with having a foot on each side of The Pond.

Despite being a permanent resident of Germany, I still apparently look like a regular US resident to all the sketchy outfits that send out crappy credit offers - there has to be something useful for humanity that I can do with that.

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