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Facebook is terrifying

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Re: Facebook is terrifying

#171

Post by quickben »

tajen wrote: post #56
jraines wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the sake of discussion, why is that scary rather than kind of nice? Unless you take the AdBlock route, aren't well targeted ads better than irrelevant ones?

Because he also looks terrible on the photo and he immediately received ads for MacDonalds jobs within minutes of posting this picture. His insurance also resigned his health policy after a system recognized him as a drunkard.

Insurance/banks are already teaming up with fb for moves in that direction. That isn't anything new.

Re: Facebook is terrifying

#173

Post by dreamfactory2 »

DennisP wrote: post #24
jitbit wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, considering all the computing power they have (more than 100k servers across dozens of datacenters - and that data is from 2010) this is not a problem. Hell, they can even quickly detect copyright infringement a posted video right? Ever posted a video with some background music? I don't think computing power is a problem...

The problem isn't computing power, it's algorithm accuracy. If there are thousands of people who are a close-enough match to your face, then when they see your face in a random crowd at a train station, they don't know which of those people you are. To fix this they'd probably need other heuristics, which for all I know they're already using. An easy one would be to narrow it down by location, though sometimes that'd…

There are companies who are selling tech that will recognise a person rapidly walking past in a conference crowd (had it demoed to me), so yes the tech is definitely capable now

Re: Facebook is terrifying

#174

Post by dreamfactory2 »

thomyorkie wrote: post #3

> Even if you’re extremely cautious, even if you never post anything on Facebook, even if you have “location services” disabled on your phone at all times etc. etc. Facebook still knows where you are. You can’t stop other people from taking selfies in an airport. This seems a bit over the top. What are the odds I'll end up in the background of someone's selfie that they post on Facebook? I imagine the chances are inc…

Another org with a network of surveillance cameras just has to do a deal with FB

Re: Facebook is terrifying

#176

Post by reddytowns »

Maybe a photo app should be created that pretended to be the camera and would mash up faces, mix parts of old photos and recorded images of deep learning "dreams" and passed them off as photos to help poison the fb database

Re: Facebook is terrifying

#177

Post by freehunter »

ohstopitu wrote: post #156
hacker_9 wrote: post #5

"If you're not paying, you are the product" It used to be that the law couldn't catch up with the fast change in technology, now it's us the people that can't keep up. All my friends using Facebook don't comprehend what is going on, it's just pictures right? The idea that FB is creating highly detailed profiles of every user, and selling them to anyone who will pay, is just dismissed as a joke. What good can come fro…

That's because they are not selling those very pictures to anyone who'll pay. They (facebook) are the middle men - people who have money come to them to sell their product, and facebook knows who to show those products too. your friends (and mine, and a huge percentage of facebook's userbase) trust facebook enough for that to happen. And it does not help anyone's cause when people say "X company (be it Google, Facebo…

Yeah, as someone who has used Facebook for advertising, what they're doing is pretty obvious and not really that nefarious IMO. When I set an ad, I get to say "I want people within 10 miles of this zip code who like dogs, shopping, sports, and breweries" and Facebook limits my ads to only that subset of people. I don't get a list of their names, I don't even know who they are. They just see my ad and I'm charged $1.

Whenever someone asks "what nefarious thing is this company doing with my data?" the answer is rarely "something really, really bad!". Rather, it's almost always "trying to sell you something".

Re: Facebook is terrifying

#178

Post by freehunter »

kafkaesq wrote: post #155
jwilk wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would Facebook collect SSNs?

Like he said -- "People just submitted it".

But... why? When? How? I joined Facebook in 2006 when it opened to the public and it never asked for my social security number. Did they used to ask that prior to 2006? I mean, "people just submitted it" only works if it was asked for. Unless we're presuming people posted their SSNs on their wall for their friends to see.

I really doubt that's the case.

Re: Facebook is terrifying

#179

Post by pravda »

l33tbro wrote: post #158

I can't get into my Facebook account right now because it's prompting me with a request to provide government-issued ID (eg, drivers license, passport) to verify me. Suffice it to say, I am no longer on Facebook.

How did that happen? I have a 'fake' Facebook account (the only kind I'd ever have!) and I wonder what it would take for Facebook to ask for 'verification'.

Re: Facebook is terrifying

#180

Post by mgamache »

freehunter wrote: post #177
ohstopitu wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's because they are not selling those very pictures to anyone who'll pay. They (facebook) are the middle men - people who have money come to them to sell their product, and facebook knows who to show those products too. your friends (and mine, and a huge percentage of facebook's userbase) trust facebook enough for that to happen. And it does not help anyone's cause when people say "X company (be it Google, Facebo…

Yeah, as someone who has used Facebook for advertising, what they're doing is pretty obvious and not really that nefarious IMO. When I set an ad, I get to say "I want people within 10 miles of this zip code who like dogs, shopping, sports, and breweries" and Facebook limits my ads to only that subset of people. I don't get a list of their names, I don't even know who they are. They just see my ad and I'm charged $1.…

That's true, but Facebook knows the real names, and that targeting technology could just as easily point to religious / political affiliations and personal experiences.

FBI (via NSL):

"Hey FB, show me all the posts from right-wing pro-gun users in within 20 miles of X because we think there's something going on near there".

or

"Hey FB, show me all the people with pictures taken outside the US with Middle East looking faces/names who are living in South East Michigan".

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