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"Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

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Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#261
post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like a typical blurring of responsibility through bureaucracy. "If Zak is a billionaire, then he is responsible, but since he essentially did nothing wrong, then no one will be held accountable." Total nonsense. There are specific crimes, and there are specific people who planned this crimes, specific peoples who ordered them to be carried out, and who carried them out. And these people should be held accounta…

It's complex - that's why you have judges and juries - to make judgements. I'm saying leaders bear more responsibility than foot soldiers - I'm not saying foot soldiers don't also have a responsibility - but 'I didn't physically do it' isn't a defence for those that gave the orders/ created a culture where it happened. Sure, Zuck might not really known and that is a mitigation. But I think the interesting question he…

>those that gave the orders

That's part of the crime. Of course, the one who gave the order must bear responsibility. It's just that if the subordinate also bears full responsibility, there is a high probability that there will be no order to commit a crime, because everyone will expect that there will be no criminal ready to commit the crime.

>what does everybody ( in the commpany ) think would have happened if he did find out?

Why is this important? A crime has been committed. The people who committed it must be held accountable. The lack of responsibility of the direct criminals allows for the existence of a system where the commission of crimes is not punished, employees cover up each other's crimes, and those who refuse to commit them are fired. Not the other way around.

>It's easy to frame laws to make it the leaders responsibility

Where are the examples?

>it's their job to know

Yes, and this is exactly the substitution that occurs: instead of responsibility for a real crime, there is responsibility for a poorly performed job. A great system for a leader to use to get his subordinates to commit crimes for his own benefit.

>if people did it because of fear of losing their jobs

Then they should bear more serious responsibility than those who committed the same crime for personal profit.

Because this is already organized crime, more dangerous for society and more protected from law enforcement agencies. Therefore, the direct perpetrator of the crime, the one who gave the order to commit the crime and those who tried to cover up the criminals - should be considered an organized criminal group, with all the consequences.

And Zuc, if he did not order the crimes to be committed - it would be great for him to get a brand new mega-yacht. So that the next time he starts winking strangely or giving out KPIs that are easiest to achieve by committing crimes - people would think with their own heads, and not start engaging in organized criminal activities.

Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this is still perfectly legal and allowed. every app can scan your apps and recently opened ones "for security". same for your contacts. whatsapp (only meta product i need to touch in our fleet) will do both at very fast intervals, and upload a contact list diff if it detect changes. the whole issue here was that meta bypassed the user matching on the web without paying google "cookie matching" price

It's so obnoxious that whatsapp refuses to function if you don't let it scan your contacts. I genuinely think that should be illegal.

I‘m using it without sharing my contacts on iOS

Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#264
post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's so obnoxious that whatsapp refuses to function if you don't let it scan your contacts. I genuinely think that should be illegal.

I‘m using it without sharing my contacts on iOS

I wonder if it’s improved recently. I’ve been cursing at Facebook for years for holding hostage the ability to create WhatsApp group chats when I’ve declined to expose all of my contacts to it, but I just checked again and there’s a “Skip” button now that proceeds to the phone number UI.

Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#265
post #92

Remember in 2014 when the Android Twitter app started sending a list of all your installed applications back to Twitter? https://news.bloomberglaw.com/privacy-and-data-security/twit... Ever since then I refused to install native versions of apps that could be used in a browser. I don't use Facebook or Instagram so I don't know if that works anymore, and I recall testing that they were intentionally crippling Facebook…

Web apps have been sabotaged so severely for years now, and it really peeves me. Half the time they bombard the UI with "use the app!!1" popups and the other half of the time they just don't work. The worst part is that a lot of native apps these days are just web views. You can't even be bother to use the native UI toolkit and you expect me to download your app? If this is just safari with extra steps then let me us…

It stuns me that eBay is so determined to get you to use the app that they will divert someone who has landed on the site and started typing a search term presumably with the explicit intention of buying something in order to sell them on the idea of installing an app instead!

Just ... let me give you money without interrupting me ... please?

Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Web apps have been sabotaged so severely for years now, and it really peeves me. Half the time they bombard the UI with "use the app!!1" popups and the other half of the time they just don't work. The worst part is that a lot of native apps these days are just web views. You can't even be bother to use the native UI toolkit and you expect me to download your app? If this is just safari with extra steps then let me us…

It stuns me that eBay is so determined to get you to use the app that they will divert someone who has landed on the site and started typing a search term presumably with the explicit intention of buying something in order to sell them on the idea of installing an app instead! Just ... let me give you money without interrupting me ... please?

Yes, it's the same thing I see with logins. How many more sales could we be making if we didn't require a user account? A lot, I would imagine. Most people are going to be seeing your site for 5 minutes, buy what they need, and then get a confirmation email. That process should be something you're optimizing for - but evidently, the promise of juicy data is more important than actual sales. Hopefully that user account is worth more than a few cents!

Exhibit A: parking apps. Why do I need an app? And why do I need an account? What if I just... don't pay? How many people are doing that? Probably a lot.

So let's spin up a contract with a local towing company and burn all this money for non-compliant customers instead of just getting our heads out of our asses and streamlining the process. I bet you if you just put a tap-to-pay meter then 99% of the non-compliance will just - poof - disappear.

Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I once bluntly refused to deploy an app to production because it was a finance system that handled billions of dollars and the personal data of a million children. The HTTPS certificates couldn’t be organised on time (don’t ask), so I simply refused to deploy it using HTTP only “just for now” (=years). The look of stunned shock on the project manager’s face is something I’ll never forget. He was apoplectic with mixed…

How many software developers do you think are struggling to put food on the table?

If you're on a work visa you can be sent back if you lose your job afaik.

Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Comparing engineers writing tracking code for ads, to hitmen killing people, is an extremely dishonest and emotionally manipulative comparison. These things aren't even in the same category, and you know it.

You're right, hitmen only affect a relatively small number of people while software developers can easily worsen the lives of thousands if not millions.

This drivel isn't funny when a kid does it, let alone an adult. Please start arguing in good faith (and making valid points that don't sound like they came from a toddler).

Re: "Localhost tracking" explained. It could cost Meta €32B

#270
post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's so obnoxious that whatsapp refuses to function if you don't let it scan your contacts. I genuinely think that should be illegal.

I‘m using it without sharing my contacts on iOS

That's purely down to iOS's contacts API not telling apps if they have full access to contacts if you refuse or supply a subset. Genuinely wish android's APIs worked the same way.

I currently store all my contacts in an app that doesn't expose them through the contacts API for this reason.

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