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Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

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Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#131

Post by pdabbadabba »

mar77i wrote: post #122
mr_overalls wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should be worried for these reasons: 1) Google (and other SV giants) share data with the NSA. https://www.salon.com/2014/11/16/googles_secret_nsa_alliance... 2) The NSA in turn shares information with law-enforcement agencies. ICREACH contains information on the private communications millions of American citizens who have not been accused of any wrongdoing. https://gizmodo.com/the-nsa-made-its-own-google-to-help…

And then there's this... https://wikileaks.org/google-is-not-what-it-seems/ Speaking of spooky stuff and google, this article still takes the cake. EDIT: for completeness sake, there has been a follow up: https://wikileaks.org/Op-ed-Google-and-the-NSA-Who-s.html

I just spent the last few minutes skimming through that article but, if there was a bombshell (or even 'spooky') allegation in there, I didn't find it. Maybe this is more a comment on the quality of the writing than the merits, but if anyone out there could explain what is actually being claimed here, that would be really helpful.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#132

Post by [deleted] »

lucb1e wrote: post #125
bogomipz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, they're buying those from 3rd party data brokers I believe. This is the place where legislation is needed so people can own their own data. I would love to see some clearing house that sends out requests to people saying "Facebook or whomever is interested in acquiring your day" and you are given the option of approving or denying.

> they're buying those from 3rd party data brokers I believe Huh, why would they need to? The first time you load an element from Facebook (be it a like button, comments or something else) you just get a unique cookie and there's your Facebook profile. Now it's a waiting game until you log in and they can connect it to a person, or you do something else that allows them to identify you (maybe visiting friend's pages,…

[deleted]

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#133

Post by 0xBABAD00C »

Slansitartop wrote: post #97
resu_nimda wrote: post #59

Google and Facebook also use your data as input for increasingly sophisticated AI algorithms that put you in a filter bubble — an alternate digital universe that controls what you see in their products, based on what their algorithms think you are most likely to click on. These echo chambers distort people's reality, creating a myriad of unintended consequences such as increasing societal polarization. How is this an…

>> Google and Facebook also use your data as input for increasingly sophisticated AI algorithms that put you in a filter bubble > How is this any different from the pre- or sans-Google and Facebook world? Easy: the bubbles are tighter and harder to pierce. In the old days, you'd have to get your information from the same news sources as everyone else, only customized at a fairly coarse level (e.g. a city). That regul…

> Easy: the bubbles are tighter and harder to pierce

Says who? It's absolutely the opposite in my experience, having lived in various conservative societies most of my life. Bubbles are much more self-imposed and easily breakable and modifiable now, than even say 30 years ago, let alone 100.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#134

Post by bogomipz »

lucb1e wrote: post #125
bogomipz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, they're buying those from 3rd party data brokers I believe. This is the place where legislation is needed so people can own their own data. I would love to see some clearing house that sends out requests to people saying "Facebook or whomever is interested in acquiring your day" and you are given the option of approving or denying.

> they're buying those from 3rd party data brokers I believe Huh, why would they need to? The first time you load an element from Facebook (be it a like button, comments or something else) you just get a unique cookie and there's your Facebook profile. Now it's a waiting game until you log in and they can connect it to a person, or you do something else that allows them to identify you (maybe visiting friend's pages,…

>"Huh, why would they need to?"

Because by doing so they are able to compile additional information about people, data that's not available to them via online tracking. See:

https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-user...

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#136

Post by programmarchy »

astro_robot wrote: post #42

Honest question. I'm unsure what the danger is in letting these companies acquire data on us. We get a lot of benefit from using their products for free. Why should I care about giving my data to them as a cost of admission?

Perhaps you don't have any controversial opinions or beliefs. However, that could change. Not because you change your views, but because in the future a power could arise that wants to kill people who believe the things you do, and has no problem using force to acquire the data from Google to make their lists. Suddenly, you have a problem.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#137

Post by mnm1 »

Writing better articles than this is the way to stop Google/FB/advertising. Educating people on how dangerous ads are and what the solutions are (uBlock origin, turning off JS, VPNs, and hosts files etc.) is the main thing we can do other than making such things the defaults in products like Firefox (which doesn't even have such features built in yet, afaik). Once a large enough percentage of the population is using such solutions, tracking will no longer be a problem. If the argument is that most people won't want to deal with such education or the solutions it proposes, then those people simply do not deserve privacy or security. People that are too lazy/stupid to use computers probably shouldn't without the supervision of someone competent anyway. Yes, that includes the proverbial grandma--I don't let my mother use a computer I haven't prepared for her, for example.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#138

Post by mnm1 »

linsomniac wrote: post #56

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm mostly ok with Google. I feel like they are good stewards of my data (encrypting even internal traffic, severe restrictions on who can get access to my data, doing useful things with that data). I believe Facebook has similar policies in place. I think their biggest sins are just being big. It makes them a larger target (which probably necessitates them taking extreme protecti…

Google and Facebook have no choice but to reveal your data to governments that ask for it. While the companies themselves might protect your data, simply giving that data to a third party renders it readable by the government. Any protections provided by the constitution (4th amendment) at that point are null and void. So by definition, Google and Facebook cannot be good stewards of your data while complying with American law. Neither can any other third party. Period.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#139

Post by rangersanger »

blowski wrote: post #70
linsomniac wrote: post #56

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm mostly ok with Google. I feel like they are good stewards of my data (encrypting even internal traffic, severe restrictions on who can get access to my data, doing useful things with that data). I believe Facebook has similar policies in place. I think their biggest sins are just being big. It makes them a larger target (which probably necessitates them taking extreme protecti…

My concern about Google is not so much now, but maybe 20 years from now when they're desperate for revenue. Something akin to Yahoo's position in the last few years, except Yahoo didn't know almost everything about half the planet.

Yes, this is the sticking point that frustrates me so much. Fine, trust Google now, I think you're giving alot up, but whatever. But, you cannot predict tomorrow or the day after that.

Re: Google and Facebook are watching our every move online

#140

Post by alasdair_ »

gknoy wrote: post #62
linsomniac wrote: post #56

I feel like I'm in the minority, but I'm mostly ok with Google. I feel like they are good stewards of my data (encrypting even internal traffic, severe restrictions on who can get access to my data, doing useful things with that data). I believe Facebook has similar policies in place. I think their biggest sins are just being big. It makes them a larger target (which probably necessitates them taking extreme protecti…

Facebook's "X years ago today, you posted this ..." has been amazing. I don't usually re-share it but it really brightens my morning or day to see photos of my kids when they were 4-5 years younger, and marvel at how much they've grown. I mean, I'd still think about that even without FB showing me things, but I would not have managed to build a "here's a flashback!" photo-reminder system. In an age when we take SO MA…

Is there a way to disable that feature out of interest?
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