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FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

ftc.gov

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Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#31
To me, what's missing from that set of recommendations is some method to increase the liability of companies who mishandle user data.

It is insane to me that I can be notified via physical mail of months old data breaches, some of which contained my Social Security number, and that my only recourse is to set credit freezes from multiple credit bureaus.

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#32
the full report[0] is a good read don't just read the summary..

>>> But these findings should not be viewed in isolation. They stem from a business model that varies little across these nine firms – harvesting data for targeted advertising, algorithm design, and sales to third parties. With few meaningful guardrails, companies are incentivized to develop ever-more invasive methods of collection. >>>

[0]: https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/Social-Media-6b...

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#33

Behind the ball by 15 years to start taking this seriously and beginning to think about pushing back, but better late than never. Next please reign in the CRAs.

It makes me irrationally angry that I suddenly started getting spam emails from Experian. Like motherfucker I never consented for you to have my data, then you leak it all, now you're sending me unsolicited junk email? It's just such bullshit that I'm literally forced to have a relationship with these companies to freeze my credit or else I'm at the mercy of whoever they decide to release my information to without my…

My pet solution has been to make the credit reporters liable for transmitting false information to the CRAs.

Chase tells Experian I opened a new line of credit with them, but it later is demonstrated that it was a scammer with my SSN? Congratulations, $5,000 fine.

Of course this all gets priced in to the cost and availability of consumer credit. Good! Now the lenders have an incentive to drive those costs down (cheaper, better identity verification) to compete.

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#35
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And it's not just here. The EU: Unlike the barbarians across the pond, we actually protect people's privacy rights. Also the EU: ChAt CoNtRoL

this view presupposes the state as “just another actor” as opposed to a privileged one that can take actions that private actors can’t

Those privileged actions are mostly irrelevant when discussing mass surveillance. Doubly so since they can just buy or acquire the data from corps.

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN is filled with folks that wrote the code in question, or want to create similar products. And they hate to have it pointed out that these tools may cause harm so they thrash around and make excuses and point fingers. A tale as old as this site.

I often have to remind myself who hosts this board and that I am hanging out on a site for successful and aspiring techno-robber-barons.

Complete with egotistical and ironic appropriation of the word hacker.

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#37

Behind the ball by 15 years to start taking this seriously and beginning to think about pushing back, but better late than never. Next please reign in the CRAs.

It makes me irrationally angry that I suddenly started getting spam emails from Experian. Like motherfucker I never consented for you to have my data, then you leak it all, now you're sending me unsolicited junk email? It's just such bullshit that I'm literally forced to have a relationship with these companies to freeze my credit or else I'm at the mercy of whoever they decide to release my information to without my…

Yep. It sucks. Zero consequences of any import for those companies as far as I'm aware too. Tiny fines end up being "cost of doing business". Then they get to externalize their failures onto us by using terms like "Identity Theft", which indicates something was stolen from ME and is now MY problem.

In actuality some not-well-maintained systems owned by were hacked or exposed or someone perpetrated fraud on a financial institution and happened to use information that identifies me. It's really backwards.

PSA: If you haven't already, go freeze your credit at Experian, TransUnion, Equifax and Innovis. It will make the perpetration of this type of fraud much more difficult for adversaries.

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#38

I love the cognitive dissonance on display within the federal government. One arm: "everyone is a criminal; spy on everyone" Other arm: "hey you shouldn't really harvest all of that data"

The FTC is under the president's authority. This is election pandering, same as Zuckerberg's backpedaling on government censorship.

This is for getting votes from the undecided.

Everything will be back to normal (surveillance, data collection and censorship) after the election.

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#39

"these surveillance practices can endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identify theft to stalking." Is there any evidence that any of these things have ever happened as a result of this sort of data collection? I'm not talking about data posted to social media, I'm talking about the specific data collection described in this FTC press release.

I have been stalked and harassed by an Apple employee using data they were able to glean from their access at Apple.

The impossible part is proving the abuse. All of these companies keep their database, access controls, and everything they possible can about these data lakes secret. The simple fact of the matter is that you will never have any evidence someone looked you up in a database.

It is really easy to walk the line, but be obvious enough to intimidate.

Re: FTC: Vast Surveillance of Users by Social Media and Video Streaming Companies

#40

"these surveillance practices can endanger people’s privacy, threaten their freedoms, and expose them to a host of harms, from identify theft to stalking." Is there any evidence that any of these things have ever happened as a result of this sort of data collection? I'm not talking about data posted to social media, I'm talking about the specific data collection described in this FTC press release.

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