Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

techcrunch.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–130 of 178 posts

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#121

Post by trallnag »

krior wrote: post #118
_--__--__ wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is self reported according to the US census recognized racial categories: white, black, asian, native American/Alaskan, native Hawaiian or Pacific islander, and other (or two+ categories). Hispanic/latino identification is a separate box you check for reasons that are hard to explain without going over decades of bureaucratic decisions.

> US census recognized racial categories Thank you for a googleable term. Are there any guides on how to decide which "race" you are? Because I cannot imagine that everyone knows exactly which part of the earth all of their ancestors originate from.

They can pick "mixed" or the race they identify with the most.

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#122

Post by traderj0e »

dylan604 wrote: post #120
tardedmeme wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would happen if you just lied? I guess you wouldn't get healthcare coverage once they found out? But isn't there something in law about material damages, they'd have to prove you cost them money by choosing the wrong race?

If it's an official government form, there's usually verbiage stating that knowingly and willingly falsifying information is considered perjury or some such wording.

Yeah I was about to lie one time then saw that. Whoever does the PSAT thinks I'm black though.

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#123

Post by BowBun »

Ylpertnodi wrote: post #104
BowBun wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, this is a common point of confusion when talking to Europeans about racial issues in the US (as I found out myself recently). Race in our contexts refers to your background/birthplace/heritage. On our government forms: "What race are you?" "White, black, hispanic, etc." This is fundamentally different by intent than in Europe (using french here) where we refer to 'la race humaine' which is the _species_. The nua…

Most Europeans are NOT confused by this. Sheesh.

I am European, I have had this discussion with Europeans back home from various countries. This is a common point of confusion. Do you have something to add?

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#124

Post by zx8080 »

For someone not familiar with the US legal system, something is not clear here: if that's Meta/Facebook tracking via pixel, than why it's not possible to sue them for it?

Or if that tracking is considered legal in this particular case - WHY?

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#125

Post by _--__--__ »

krior wrote: post #118
_--__--__ wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is self reported according to the US census recognized racial categories: white, black, asian, native American/Alaskan, native Hawaiian or Pacific islander, and other (or two+ categories). Hispanic/latino identification is a separate box you check for reasons that are hard to explain without going over decades of bureaucratic decisions.

> US census recognized racial categories Thank you for a googleable term. Are there any guides on how to decide which "race" you are? Because I cannot imagine that everyone knows exactly which part of the earth all of their ancestors originate from.

It is not a perfect or rigid system, but it's the one we have (and any attempt to improve it would get caught up in the weeds of how much 'racial science' can be endorsed by the US government).

Practically speaking, most Americans over the past 300 years knew of specific near ancestors who came from somewhere else (with little interbreeding among immigrant populations) and answered based on that. The obvious exceptions were descendants of slaves and Native Americans, which is why those were the first non-white (where 'white' includes all Europeans as well as large parts of the Middle East and North Africa) categories tracked by the census.

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#126

Post by kittikitti »

From my experience working with health data, HIPAA laws are utilized to generate leverage against whoever the gatekeepers want. There's no expectation of privacy for anyone with HIPAA, it's a failed policy meant to intimidate. They hold up a disguise that it's very hard and strict and enforce these regulations to punish whoever they deem unworthy. Usually, it's big corporations targeting competition with needles lawsuits.

I've seen unfathomable abuses in HIPAA privacy laws. Some of it is was for my own health records. If you only knew how bad it was. I can't detail it all because their lawyers will bully and intimidate me like they already have.

HIPAA was a way to provide surveillance of your health. Corporations, governments, law enforcement, healthcare professionals, or even a petulant child that annoys a parent who's a doctor has access to everyone's health records. The public sentiment on HIPAA laws is just so backwards.

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#127

Post by rf15 »

BowBun wrote: post #101
krior wrote: post #98

Can someone from the US explain what race even means in this context and how it is determined?

Yes, this is a common point of confusion when talking to Europeans about racial issues in the US (as I found out myself recently). Race in our contexts refers to your background/birthplace/heritage. On our government forms: "What race are you?" "White, black, hispanic, etc." This is fundamentally different by intent than in Europe (using french here) where we refer to 'la race humaine' which is the _species_. The nua…

> they thought I was talking Nazi propaganda!

well, I mean, listen, if it's part of the census, that's... still government-level racial discrimination. It might not be a duck, but this thing has a certain duck-shaped silhuette.

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#128

Post by adamnemecek »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #51
wewtyflakes wrote: post #5

It should be illegal to send the data, and illegal to accept it; burn both sides of that bridge.

It's a tracking pixel. They fool you into sending it.

That's like saying that Ted Kaczynski was innocent, because he didn't force anyone to open the packages.

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#129

Post by aksss »

DangitBobby wrote: post #100
aksss wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

corporate overlords? These are the state governments selling your data. The call is coming from inside the house. The sooner we realize that government is comprised of the same slithering slime of human greed and laziness, the more realistic discussions we can have.

It's not even remotely the same scale. At least the government ostensibly has its incentives aligned with the public. False equivance gets us further from where we need to by focusing people on the wrong problems.

"Ostensibly" is the mistake in your formula. Current events are replete with examples to the contrary. It's not equivocating to recognize that governments are organizations of humans, subject to the same limitations - the larger they get, the harder they are to manage well; talent is incredibly important to success in mission; leadership is incredibly important to integrity, ethics, and strategy; lower oversight and mediocre control structures lead to abuse. You can see the challenges that government as an organization has there. And as to scale..? Son. At least you can "ostensibly" choose whether or not to interact with corporations unless they are colluding with... government.

Re: US healthcare marketplaces shared citizenship and race data with ad tech giants

#130

Post by joquarky »

dylan604 wrote: post #119
worik wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The relevant facts are that the website owner voluntarily put the tracking code... The civil discussion should now be about the punishment for that. Regulation is required for handling people's data

Sounds like that will work similar to incarcerating drug users instead of the drug makers and distribution network?

The former can't afford lawyers.
Post reply on HN