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I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

nytimes.com

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Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#211

Post by lisper »

cortesoft wrote: post #206
lisper wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't. What makes it corrupt is that banks are not in fact strictly regulated, it only appears that way. But there is no way I can prove that to you in an HN comment. I would have to write a book. I can point you to a lot of circumstantial evidence but there is nothing probative in the public record (see below). The only definitive evidence I have of the corruption in the system is my personal experience, some a…

I think this might come down to how you define corruption.

I define it the way the dictionary does: dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power in order to advance their own interests over those of others.

How would you define it?

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#212

Post by hirundo »

rhizome wrote: post #173
hirundo wrote: post #159

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it has value, both to the advertiser and to the target, compared to un-targeted advertising. Advertising is an attempt to transfer information. Targeted ads means that the information is more likely to be relevant, whatever its other downsides. Let's not throw out that baby with the bath water.

Targeting doesn't work. There is no baby.

I recently bought a set of clamps on Amazon to join two shipping containers together. Since then I've seen a bunch of related ads, such as for shipping container vents, shelving, etc. I clicked on a couple of those ads, and while I didn't buy anything, I did learn some useful information. I probably would have learned less, if anything, from untargeted ads in those same slots.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#213

Post by cgag »

crooked-v wrote: post #178
diminoten wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 priva…

But that's not an interpretation of that phrase at all.

It makes me think of signing inescapable contracts with demons, which seem convenient but ultimately doom you for eternity.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#214

Post by adrr »

Cieplak wrote: post #26

I’m curious what sort of due diligence these companies must do to authenticate you as a person prior to satisfying an information retrieval request. Given that the exchange is entirely digital, it seems plausible that there are bad actors who would pose as someone else to gain access to their personal information. What sort of liability does one of these data controllers bear when they fail to properly authenticate a…

If your a company you can buy the data. Just need name and address.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#215

Post by vertex-four »

whatshisface wrote: post #200
dkonofalski wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>will our representatives actually give teeth to real data protection legislation No. The majority of them don't even understand what data is being collected, how it can be used, or the technology behind any of it. Until the people in office change, the idea that our representatives can or will protect us is toothless and spineless.

What trouble Congress is in! They have to be experts in law, warfare, every industry from oil refining to adtech, science (at least as far as funding it goes), ecology, economics, medicine... In fact I would say that it's impossible to expect anyone to understand enough to know what they're legislating. Aside from being a powerful libertarian argument against the excessive involvement of government, I think it shows…

Congress used to have an office which would inform them of how things work, but unsurprisingly, proceeded to dismantle it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Technology_Assessmen...

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#217

Post by phyzome »

dennisgorelik wrote: post #154
progval wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact that the data is being sold to third-parties (e.g., Sift) by their collectors (e.g., Airbnb) is troubling. It looks like Airbnb & co paid Sift instead, in addition to sending it their data: "Sift has this data because the company has been hired by Airbnb, Yelp, and Coinbase"

My guess is that Airbnb will stop using Sift after this article is published, because of bad press Sift generated for Airbnb by giving Airbnb messages back to the original user (the author of that article).

Imagine Airbnb changing their behavior because of bad press.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#218

Post by acdha »

whatshisface wrote: post #200
dkonofalski wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>will our representatives actually give teeth to real data protection legislation No. The majority of them don't even understand what data is being collected, how it can be used, or the technology behind any of it. Until the people in office change, the idea that our representatives can or will protect us is toothless and spineless.

What trouble Congress is in! They have to be experts in law, warfare, every industry from oil refining to adtech, science (at least as far as funding it goes), ecology, economics, medicine... In fact I would say that it's impossible to expect anyone to understand enough to know what they're legislating. Aside from being a powerful libertarian argument against the excessive involvement of government, I think it shows…

This is why members of Congress have staffers and various groups like http://www.loc.gov/crsinfo/ which have subject-matter experts on staff to offer advice and research arbitrary topics of legislative interest.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#219

Post by teh_infallible »

hirundo wrote: post #159
amelius wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Because it has value, both to the advertiser and to the target, compared to un-targeted advertising. Advertising is an attempt to transfer information. Targeted ads means that the information is more likely to be relevant, whatever its other downsides. Let's not throw out that baby with the bath water.

“Targeted advertising” is just a euphemism for the secretive creation and sale of dossiers on unwitting Internet users. It should already be illegal under existing laws.

Re: I Got Access to My Secret Consumer Score

#220

Post by vertex-four »

wongarsu wrote: post #186
aedocw wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Advertising is an attempt to transfer information" is deeply misguided unless you adjust that to say "transfer very biased information". Advertising is an attempt to influence one party to give their money to another party, generally through manipulation and guile. Targeted advertising is like the difference between spam and spear phising. The person being advertised to rarely (if ever) benefits.

I benefit if Youtube shows me advertisements for desk chairs and lathes instead of beauty products and kids toys. Targeted advertisements help me discover new products and product categories, while untargeted advertising just wastes my time. This is in essence no different than companies buying advertising time in specific TV shows with a known audience. Of course the abuses are also plentiful and dangerous. We proba…

The equivalent of buying advertising time in specific TV shows with a known audience is... buying adverts on specific Youtube channels with a known audience. Funnily, a lot of Youtubers now perform advertising of this sort - I'm sure you've seen the VPN ads.

This, like TV, doesn't require tracking of individual people who haven't consented to such.

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