Blog Ergo Sum — Est. 2005
In other words, we have a tool that works for telling the internet that a person wants privacy. The problem is that the companies that dominate the internet are, for the most part, plugging their ears and saying, “Nah, nah, nah, nah, I don’t hear you, nah, nah, nah, nah, I don’t hear you,” and will continue to do so until the government forces them to take their fingers out of their ears.
An interesting read on Gizmodo.
Facebook has claimed that users already have extensive control over what information is made available to advertisers, but that’s not entirely true. When I asked the company last year about whether it used shadow contact information for ads, it gave me inaccurate information, and it hadn’t made the practice clear in its extensive messaging to users about ads. It took academic researchers performing tests for months to unearth the truth. People are increasingly paranoid about the creepy accuracy of the ads they see online and don’t understand where the information is coming from that leads to that accuracy. It seems that, when it came to this particular practice, Facebook wanted to keep its users in the dark.
Kashmir Hill, on Gizmodo
Two months after the scandal it’s interesting to see how mass reaction to the event was non-existent and now Facebook still operates as if nothing happened. Maybe GDPR is not perfect, but it shows that Laws can protect us when it seems we do not want to be protected.
Where I reply to a post on Privacy by David Shanske.
I was reading David Shanske’s post on Privacy. Begun writing a comment, but then things became a long text, so I’ve decided to write down something here on ‘my place’.
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Privacy. The subject is difficult to examine and grasp in all its aspects.
AFAIK personal use of data here in Italy (and Europe? I don’t really know) is legitimate. For example I can collect thousands of phone numbers, email, medical informations (ie. you had varicella in 2000). As long as I keep those data private it’s all ok.
When I begin using those data for business, or share on a local newspaper you (again for example) are HIV positive, well… then things become complicated.
The ‘strange’ things in all of this is that – at least for me and for anyone that has a little common sense – it’s that this GDPR and Cookie Law warns me about stupid things. That you can see my email (which I wrote on purpose to comment on a blog) and see the IP I am using (again, because this is how things works) …
The law does not protect me about any of the use you’re going to do – privately or not, legally or not – about my data. You (as the receiver) can do whatever comes to your mind (like in Cambridge Analytica case). I can confirm my will you’ll use my data for ‘commercial pourpose’ without any limit to what you’ll actually do.
If someone was really interested in our privacy then he should promote the usage of things like TOR or VPN for any internet connection. Would forbid audio & video surveillance that is gone daily by our smartphones or ‘home assistants’, along with any GPS data … Would forbid any technology that fingerprints where we go, who do we talk with (via phone calls or any messaging form), and so on…
And, most of all, instead of bugging us with useless pop-ups, the law should smash down any business that manipulates our data tricking our behaviors.
Here’s my suggested reading list for this Sunday. Last week I forgot to post, given the aftermaths of the first edition of the WordCamp Bari 2018, sorry. If you have time for just a single articole… well, my choice has been put in evidence 😉
We’re just waking up to this Facebook hangover. The first impulse will be for quick fixes, and I’m sure some of those will be helpful. But the real work to getting sober means reimagining the entire privacy-exploiting advertisement industry. It’s your job to keep up the pressure so that actually happens. Don’t just swear off Facebook for a week, then go back to your bender ways.
David H. Hansson, on Medium
