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Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

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Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#201
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

> EU: creates regulation that makes doing that thing illegal That’s a huge fallacy. For the most part complaints about the EU regulatory fetish are about the way regulations don’t make it clear what is legal to do. So yeah, the EU outlaws some bad behavior, but also lots of innocuous behavior, with a “spirit of the law” enforcement regime. So nobody actually knows what’s legal. I’m surprised that’s not well understoo…

> but also lots of innocuous behavior, with a “spirit of the law” enforcement regime.

This is great, and you're only mad because it's the perfect riposte to Apple's "loophole around the spirit of the law" mentality. Cry more!

We got into this mess because Apple illegally manipulated their implementation of normal software; App Stores, browsers, messaging apps, you name it. The point of this legislation is to make businesses think twice before pushing a product competitors are blocked from competing with. In that sense it is about as clear as you could ask for, unless you're an Apple sycophant demanding "clarity" in the form of clemency.

I'll just be honest; people like you are the only reason I read HN anymore. I've gotten tired of the moonshot posts and the idiot investors, but corporate apologists? That one's evergreen. Ever since the DMA you people have crawled up to the surface like worms after rain to defend your almighty benefactor and the power they wield. Now I get to enjoy less-and-less coherent posts from people that don't even get paid to attack the government on behalf of big business. If any one of you had an ounce of faith in Apple, then you wouldn't feel the need to speak on their behalf. Alas.

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#202
post #27

I think that nowadays industry flavored joke of “you either die a hero or live long enough to become…” should end with Google/Meta. What a dirtbags.

There's plenty of marketing targeted towards children outside of Big Tech. What's the difference when they do it?

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#203

Funnily enough, this is one case where contextual advertising would actually work better than what we have now. With contextual advertising, you could very easily target children with very specific interests and/or in specific age groups by targeting the ads at the videos they most often watch.

> this is one case where contextual advertising would actually work better than what we have now. No. No. No. That a) would involve tracking and b) what we have now are ads based on what you bought/ have looked at. I already have an 'x', why would i want more ads for it...or ads for what some algorithm thinks i might be interested in, related to it. Unless I choose to.

> No. No. No. That a) would involve tracking and b) what we have now are ads based on what you bought/ have looked at.

Contextual advertising is what's in print magazines. Audience ads next to articles, topical ads mid-story, or category ads grouped with like ads.

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#204
post #15

This reads like a tragic story. Once you've collected enough data on every internet user out there to group them into different advertising cohorts, the remaining ungrouped users, by process of elimination (due to privacy or targeted advertising laws), are children; and now they can be targeted just as easily.

This sounds eerily familiar with how big tobacco targeted underage kids to get them hooked on their products in the 60's and 70's.

Tobacco companies have always targeted kids. In the early 20th century most baseball cards were produced by sweets and tobacco manufacturers

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#205
post #76

When I was a child, the conspiracy theory among kids was that Coca-Cola inserted subliminal ads by interlacing a can of Coke within TV series or movies. I cannot believe reality surpasses all those fantasies without scrutiny. Even political propaganda between left and right wings, 1984, and other similar scenarios sound like satire.

> When I was a child, the conspiracy theory among kids was that Coca-Cola inserted subliminal ads by interlacing a can of Coke within TV series or movies. I cannot believe reality surpasses all those fantasies.

Reader: Yeah, that happened...

Narrator: It did: https://www.businessinsider.com/subliminal-ads-2011-5

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#206
post #125
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In case anyone replies with "well all companies are bad in some way"... scale is also a factor here. Even if Google does the same things as a small family owned business, they have significantly greater ability to inflict harm. And I'm not sure I buy that all companies are bad. A lot of companies are earnest and customer-focused when they're smaller and desperate for more users. And I've worked at many companies whic…

> In case anyone replies with "well all companies are bad in some way"... scale is also a factor here. Even disregarding scale, plenty of large companies providing critical service struggle to find good people to do their job. Sure, they don't pay as well. But if the rebuttal is that you can't find a honest company that pays equivalent salaries, maybe we should call that wage-gap corruption money.

remind me, why was "do no evil" scrubbed from the mission statement?

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#207
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We could also make it illegal to advertise to children at all. Wouldn't that be funny if all of us started clicking "I am below 18" :D

We could make it illegal for minors to use the internet at all. It is too dangerous. Similar to driving. That would solve so many current problems.

In the US, minors can get a driver's license at 16 in most places, and at 15 in a few I've seen.

And a person of any age can drive a car on private property.

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#208
post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We could also make it illegal to advertise to children at all. Wouldn't that be funny if all of us started clicking "I am below 18" :D

There should be operating systems just for minkrs that are devoid of tracking and using software for kids like the kiddle search engine and social media for kids (not the one we all know of)

the number of websites that would complain such OS and browser is unsupported, is skyrocketing. thats a blight that requires mitigation any time soon.

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#209
post #182
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

This is a problem that could be solved with serious penalties (say, 20 years in prison for executives involved) and serious enforcement.

It's really not though. All that money goes somewhere, and not just in their pockets. Some goes to make sure that serious penalties and serious enforcement doesn't happen, because that too is another avenue of ensuring maximum profit.

Re: Google and Meta struck secret ads deal to target teenagers

#210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would hazard a guess that no one likes ads except the likes of google and meta SHAREHOLDERS).

I was incredulous but many normal people actually enjoy ads.

Many people have also never experienced a world where ads do not exist. I use so many layers of adblocking that whenever I use a vanilla VM or devices, I'm stunned at how shockingly bad the internet experience is for most people.
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