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Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

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Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#221

Post by Levitz »

3cats-in-a-coat wrote: post #205
Levitz wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the EU missing out on if Threads never enters it though? I don't believe Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok or Twitter were net gains for people. I don't see how Threads might be. I do honestly believe that if all these services disappeared overnight we would live in a better world. I legit just don't want Threads to enter the EU, ever.

EU is not an arbiter of which particular business it likes or doesn't like. It's not Russia.

EU can very well decide not to allow any product they please.

There are products that can't be sold on the EU because of health concerns. Threads is no different.

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#222

Post by expensive_news »

superq wrote: post #198
Keirmot wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Im someone who doesn’t have a Facebook account for years, and because I still have the same phone number I had back when I deleted my account I can’t even create a new one. But I still want to check it out when it comes out in the EU. Just to see what it is like. I will probably not use it, because the lack of proper chronological feed irks me, but as an iOS developer I want to check out new apps all the time to see…

As soon as you do, you will accept (and can not change your mind later) the new terms of service (and privacy policy, that is: what this post is about) which also are designed to prohibit you from developing an alternative app. Just look at screenshots or videos of how it works to satisfy your curiosity.

Are you suggesting that the Terms of Service you sign when you create an account bars you from ever creating a competitor app?

That sounds like it would not hold up in court. It would be as if Threads could be shut down if a single person on the team had once made a Twitter account.

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#223

Post by mrguyorama »

Keirmot wrote: post #175
Zealotux wrote: post #144

I'm wondering something here, and I humbly ask for feedback: to anyone hyped about Threads, why? Has Meta ever displayed any particular quality regarding content moderation, freedom of speech, privacy, information control, transparency, or mental health? Not implying Twitter is any better, Musk Tweeted, "It is infinitely preferable to be attacked by strangers on Twitter, than to indulge in the false happiness of hide…

Im someone who doesn’t have a Facebook account for years, and because I still have the same phone number I had back when I deleted my account I can’t even create a new one. But I still want to check it out when it comes out in the EU. Just to see what it is like. I will probably not use it, because the lack of proper chronological feed irks me, but as an iOS developer I want to check out new apps all the time to see…

Why so much FOMO about a shitty company doing the same thing they do every other day?

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#224

Post by mrguyorama »

csallen wrote: post #89
xg15 wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's correct. I think this is how most people see advertising.

Advertising works extremely well precisely because most people are aware that many brands with something of value are also willing to pay for ads. Look at Apple.

I would bet a small majority of people believe advertising "doesn't work" on them.

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#225

Post by tremon »

johngladtj wrote: post #220
3cats-in-a-coat wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EU is not an arbiter of which particular business it likes or doesn't like. It's not Russia.

That's why it bans businesses it doesn't like, right?

Can you name one business that was banned by name, rather than by practice? (I think Huawei might qualify, but I'm not sure what else).

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#226

Post by everdrive »

xinayder wrote: post #124
mellosouls wrote: post #44

Tbh if you are concerned about the privacy and ethics concerns here the biggest red flag is in the subtitle: Meta's Twitter rival launched in over 100 countries today—but not in the EU Anything more is simply detail - if a major launch of this sort of service omits the EU we immediately know exactly why.

100% agree with this and the other post, the biggest red flag is "Meta". Whoever thought something good and user-first would come out of this wannabe Twitter killer is completely naive. I expect that federation won't last and there's 2 things that can happen, either Meta decides it's not worth it, or they will find a way to draw out most of federated users and then deal a killing blow to the fediverse. I was skeptica…

Threads will follow the usual tech trends. It will be enjoyable for users, and Meta will run it at a loss to try to defeat Twitter. If they succeed, they will eventually make it worse for uses to woo advertisers, and then when the advertisers and users are both captured, they will make it awful for both groups in order to maximize their own profit. It will become “enshittified.”

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#227

Post by ahahahahah »

that_guy_iain wrote: post #137
xinayder wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree with this and the other post, the biggest red flag is "Meta". Whoever thought something good and user-first would come out of this wannabe Twitter killer is completely naive. I expect that federation won't last and there's 2 things that can happen, either Meta decides it's not worth it, or they will find a way to draw out most of federated users and then deal a killing blow to the fediverse. I was skeptica…

For me the biggest red flag is that they have apps in the EU but what they're doing with this one is so dodgy that they're not even risking entering the EU. Also, interesting to see a big international company actually back up their "we just won't do europe then"

It seems pretty obvious that it's no more dodgy than any other app they have. Despite people crying loudly about how untrue it is and how unfair it is when sites block people in the EU, the EU's regulations require a lot of work to comply with (even in the case where you are already complying with the intent of the regulations). Clearly here Meta's number one priority was getting this app out quickly. There are a ton of pretty basic features missing. If supporting a release in the EU required just weeks of work, I'd expect that they'd have chosen not to delay the release for that. Given the extra scrutiny that Meta is under, I'd put the amount of work required at more like months.

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#228

Post by ahahahahah »

impulser_ wrote: post #151
mellosouls wrote: post #44

Tbh if you are concerned about the privacy and ethics concerns here the biggest red flag is in the subtitle: Meta's Twitter rival launched in over 100 countries today—but not in the EU Anything more is simply detail - if a major launch of this sort of service omits the EU we immediately know exactly why.

I would bet over 95% of companies don't comply with GDPR. I know some startups don't serve EU because of this. Facebook is under the microscope of the EU, they probably aren't risking getting fined until they can scale the product and implement the thing they need to lower the fine they would get and make being fined worth it. They are going to get fined most likely, but again 95% of the companies in the world could…

I mean, given that this site itself almost certainly doesn't comply with GDPR, yeah, I think you're right.

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#229

Post by ahahahahah »

belorn wrote: post #153
threeseed wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No my problem with Twitter is that the quality of the discourse is poor and getting worse every day. Which is a direct result of Musk deciding to prioritise blue check comments over others. If you're having to pay to have people listen to you then that means you typically don't have something worth saying. And we see this manifest in many ways e.g. pages of laughing emojis in response to a tweet.

Facebook changed their algorithm several years ago (2014?) to prioritize paid content over organic comments. This resulted in many companies being force to change how they communicated, as people who followed them were not guaranteed to receive critical information if posted on Facebook. I guess the biggest difference is that Facebook has had almost 10 years to adjust the algorithm towards paid content, and have user…

> Facebook changed their algorithm several years ago (2014?) to prioritize paid content over organic comments.

That's a lie.

Instead, "Facebook realized that users were growing wary of misleading teaser headlines, and the company recalibrated its algorithm in 2014 and 2015 to downgrade clickbait and focus on new metrics, such as the amount of time a user spent reading a story or watching a video, and incorporating surveys on what content users found most valuable"

For companies that were depending on the organic reach of their clickbaity or low quality posts for their advertising, this had the effect of forcing them to pay to get that same reach. But it wasn't in any way that facebook was prioritizing paid over organic content.

Re: Red flags in the Threads privacy policy

#230

Post by prox »

logicprog wrote: post #183
prox wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hey thanks for your comment and other perspective! How couldn’t you read him before the overtake? What’s the difference? Could this inspector join Threads and would you follow him there?

They probably couldn't read him on pre-musk twitter because he was briefly banned. From the Wikipedia page, this is why: "Ritter rejected the Western media's coverage of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and has voiced his perspective on multiple podcasts, including Andrew Napolitano's.[42][43] In April 2022, he posted a tweet claiming that the National Police of Ukraine is responsible for the Bucha massacre and c…

Well that sounds like a great fit for Musk’s Twitter. Explains a lot, thank you!
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