Live data from Hacker News

Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

independent.co.uk

11–20 of 162 posts

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#11

Nicely juxtapositioned with the Independent's ad for their Facebook Bitcoin group. Facebook groups really are the antithesis of the Internet, being closed and unindexable. Anyway perhaps these no-decline 'permission' screens will cause a few people to reconsider their presence on Facebook. After all the company's Chief Privacy Officer endorses it! “People can choose to not be on Facebook if they want"

"Chief Privacy Officer" at a company that wouldn't exist were real privacy to be present in their products.

Heh, funny. Unfortunately also nonsense. A CFO also exists and not because a company doesn't handle finances responsibly. Or a CEO implies no engineering?

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#12
post #6
post #3

I just added the "Facebook Container" extension to my Firefox browser. I am hoping it will prevent most of Facebook's tracking, but I do know that it probably won't block all the tracking.

Won't ublock [1] solve that by blocking that kind of scripts from loading? [1] https://www.ublock.org/

FYI, uBlock (without 'Origin') is not the recommended one. The original is maintained by gorhill and it's available from https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#13
post #7

Considering that Facebook makes its revenue from ads and that providing relevant ads needs data and tracking, this move is not so bad. Users that don’t accept the terms or use various tech to block this, would receive misappropriated ads. Bad ads make companies lose revenue while annoying the users with extremely irrelevant info. This method should be extremely effective in removing false positives. Personal observat…

uBlock Origin makes the ads go away pretty well. I'm also open to paying.

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#14

This does not discuss whether nonusers will be asked to opt-in. Curious how GDPR will change tracking people w/out FB accounts.

You can already see it on many sites. They're basically just a more forceful version of cookie notifications with language about third party tracking thrown in that force you to say "OK" or tell you to leave. Here's an example:

http://prntscr.com/j67usw

FB, as with all third party trackers, isn't the one actually responsible for notifying you about the use of their pixels etc. on third party sites. The site operator using it is. See https://developers.facebook.com/docs/privacy

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#15
post #7

Considering that Facebook makes its revenue from ads and that providing relevant ads needs data and tracking, this move is not so bad. Users that don’t accept the terms or use various tech to block this, would receive misappropriated ads. Bad ads make companies lose revenue while annoying the users with extremely irrelevant info. This method should be extremely effective in removing false positives. Personal observat…

Why can't we simply choose relevant ad categories that we would prefer to see? Why do the options need to be (i) see random advertisements that are likely irrelevant, or (ii) allow us to track your every move, including your location, each site you visit with the Facebook widget, your message and call history, and your every click.

Or non-Facebook related, why can't my smart TV just let me choose PC Gaming, Technology, and Concert advertisements as highest priority. I might actually look forward to watching an Oculus or Vive advertisement, instead of putting the TV on mute, or leaving the room when I see another health insurance commercial for someone 60+.

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#16
post #6
post #3

I just added the "Facebook Container" extension to my Firefox browser. I am hoping it will prevent most of Facebook's tracking, but I do know that it probably won't block all the tracking.

Won't ublock [1] solve that by blocking that kind of scripts from loading? [1] https://www.ublock.org/

I highly recommend Ghostery.

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#17
post #7

Considering that Facebook makes its revenue from ads and that providing relevant ads needs data and tracking, this move is not so bad. Users that don’t accept the terms or use various tech to block this, would receive misappropriated ads. Bad ads make companies lose revenue while annoying the users with extremely irrelevant info. This method should be extremely effective in removing false positives. Personal observat…

Why can't we simply choose relevant ad categories that we would prefer to see? Why do the options need to be (i) see random advertisements that are likely irrelevant, or (ii) allow us to track your every move, including your location, each site you visit with the Facebook widget, your message and call history, and your every click. Or non-Facebook related, why can't my smart TV just let me choose PC Gaming, Technolog…

Because ads are about selling you something you didn't think you wanted.

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#18
post #7

Considering that Facebook makes its revenue from ads and that providing relevant ads needs data and tracking, this move is not so bad. Users that don’t accept the terms or use various tech to block this, would receive misappropriated ads. Bad ads make companies lose revenue while annoying the users with extremely irrelevant info. This method should be extremely effective in removing false positives. Personal observat…

Why can't we simply choose relevant ad categories that we would prefer to see? Why do the options need to be (i) see random advertisements that are likely irrelevant, or (ii) allow us to track your every move, including your location, each site you visit with the Facebook widget, your message and call history, and your every click. Or non-Facebook related, why can't my smart TV just let me choose PC Gaming, Technolog…

Why can't ads be relevant to the content of the page like they used to be in the good old days?

As an example of stupid targeted ads: I bought a Casper mattress a couple of months ago and pretty much every single ad I've seen since then (on devices where I don't have them blocked) has been for mattresses. How many mattresses does the internet think I need?

If I'm reading about something on the internet it's generally because I'm interested in it. Why not try to sell me something related to that rather than something I already bought!?

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#19

This does not discuss whether nonusers will be asked to opt-in. Curious how GDPR will change tracking people w/out FB accounts.

You can already see it on many sites. They're basically just a more forceful version of cookie notifications with language about third party tracking thrown in that force you to say "OK" or tell you to leave. Here's an example: http://prntscr.com/j67usw FB, as with all third party trackers, isn't the one actually responsible for notifying you about the use of their pixels etc. on third party sites. The site operator…

That popup contains false statement though. How does personalizing ads make the site easier to use?

Re: Facebook to ask everyone to accept being tracked so they can keep using it

#20

This does not discuss whether nonusers will be asked to opt-in. Curious how GDPR will change tracking people w/out FB accounts.

You can already see it on many sites. They're basically just a more forceful version of cookie notifications with language about third party tracking thrown in that force you to say "OK" or tell you to leave. Here's an example: http://prntscr.com/j67usw FB, as with all third party trackers, isn't the one actually responsible for notifying you about the use of their pixels etc. on third party sites. The site operator…

One of the main points of the GDPR is that this sort of treatment is unlikely to be legal any more, to the extent that it ever was. Processing based on consent is now going to require active consent that can't be opted-in by default or hidden away in legal wording no-one ever reads. It's going to be tough to argue that tracking someone who isn't connected to your business/organisation has any of the acceptable bases other than consent. And without some clear basis, processing is going to be prohibited by default.
Post reply on HN