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Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

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Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#11
post #2

How is this not utterly illegal in the EU, per GDPR? (Which was drafted to stop indiscriminate data acquisition on human subjects: I'm assuming that metadata about the core libraries on your phone, in conjunction with FB's user metadata, are trivially de-anonymizable.)

It's not metadata, is IS the binaries.

I'm pretty sure you can fingerprint a device by gathering data about the binaries (and versions thereof) installed on it. I'm pretty sure that Facebook also know whose instance of the FB app is running on the device in question. Ergo, the data can be deanonymized and gives them more insights into what their users are doing … including, oh, competing platforms and apps?

The traditional model of computer security assumes that there's one device (the computer) which may have multiple users, so the emphasis is on identifying the user to the device. But today, one user may have one or more computers (smartphones/tablets/laptops), so the emphasis is on linking devices to users and thereby tracking usage patterns across devices. Which lands it straight in GDPR territory.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#12
post #10
post #7

If the actual files are uploaded(?), doesn't this constitute reverse software piracy? Under what license are the uploaded files covered by? Can facebook require the end users to supply the source code for GPL-licensed library binaries uploaded through this system? What about proprietary oem blobs that are often covered by a no-redistribution license or EULA? What if I am an AOSP or vendor developer working on unrelea…

Nice angle but I guess the defense is that the user explicitly gave Facebook permission to read those files.

If I buy a book, I'm allowed to read that book, but I am not allowed to copy it.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#13
post #10
post #7

If the actual files are uploaded(?), doesn't this constitute reverse software piracy? Under what license are the uploaded files covered by? Can facebook require the end users to supply the source code for GPL-licensed library binaries uploaded through this system? What about proprietary oem blobs that are often covered by a no-redistribution license or EULA? What if I am an AOSP or vendor developer working on unrelea…

Nice angle but I guess the defense is that the user explicitly gave Facebook permission to read those files.

Permission? They're system libraries. If it can run, it can access those.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#15
post #6

Fingerprinting on steroids?

It's copying the actual libraries, so it's more like cutting off actual fingers rather than just taking the prints.

Maybe more like making a copy of your fingers and keeping them while leaving your actual fingers intact.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#18
post #10
post #7

If the actual files are uploaded(?), doesn't this constitute reverse software piracy? Under what license are the uploaded files covered by? Can facebook require the end users to supply the source code for GPL-licensed library binaries uploaded through this system? What about proprietary oem blobs that are often covered by a no-redistribution license or EULA? What if I am an AOSP or vendor developer working on unrelea…

Nice angle but I guess the defense is that the user explicitly gave Facebook permission to read those files.

read, not copy. They upload the files up to their servers.

Re: Facebook scans system libraries on Android and uploads them to their server

#20
post #2

How is this not utterly illegal in the EU, per GDPR? (Which was drafted to stop indiscriminate data acquisition on human subjects: I'm assuming that metadata about the core libraries on your phone, in conjunction with FB's user metadata, are trivially de-anonymizable.)

How does this provide any more data for fingerprinting than just checking the model of the phone?
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