
Why we should collectively worry about Facebook and Google owning our data - EleneShubladze
https://thenextweb.com/insights/2018/04/25/why-should-you-care-if-google-and-facebook-own-your-data/
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davidwihl
I am so done with these rants while the hosting page has 16 potential trackers
reported by Privacy Badger, including both Facebook and Google. If you are
truly outraged, do something about it besides baiting me with even more
trackers. Regulate yourself before asking governments and courts to regulate
everyone else.

~~~
FussyZeus
Not working with Facebook and Google is suicide for a media outlet right now,
and as consumers of news, we're not entirely blameless in that dilemma.

Doesn't justify the tracking and intrusive ads, all I'm saying is, businesses
are gonna business. Even here, an aggregator and community I respect, people
complain about trackers and in the next breath, get angry because sites like
the Wall Street Journal have setup paywalls, and some even get angry about
things like the Guardian asking for a donation at the end of their articles.

I mean I can't imagine these news sites enjoy selling their souls to the
Devil, but it's not like we gave them a massive list of alternatives.

~~~
Rjevski
"Working" with Facebook and Google doesn't mean embedding their trackers into
your site. You can still link to your content on Facebook/Google without the
trackers on the actual site.

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snthd
"Collective worry" is how you get the bystander effect.

~~~
ng-user
Worrying for the sake of worrying proves only detrimental to the individual

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rexgallorum2
On GDPR: Could Facebook users around the world not set their location to
somewhere in the EU and/or use a VPN to connect through servers in the EU?

~~~
Kalium
Absolutely!

The text of GDPR expressly allows companies to make you prove you are entitled
to any rights you claim, though.

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jrs235
I feel like this focus on FB and Google is a misdirection campaign being run
by the media conglomerates who are tied in with many of the service providers.
Comcast, Verizon, etc. love keeping the public eyes off of them while them
suck up our viewing and visiting information. Also, if FB and Google take a
hit and can't be the incumbent ad and marketing platforms then the providers
will become enriched as advertisers flock to them. The providers hate
competition. Just look at all the selection and competition we don't have.

Yes, it's important to know what FB and Google are doing but I think it's
hurting us by not focusing on ALL companies.

~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _Comcast, Verizon, etc. love keeping the public eyes off of them while them
> suck up our viewing and visiting information_

One, this is trivially defensible against with a VPN. Two, ISPs have regional
scale; Facebook and Google are international. Three, we have actual evidence
of Facebook repeatedly dropping the ball and causing tangible harm on multiple
continents. We don’t have the latter for ISPs nor Google (in respect of the
latter, outside YouTube).

~~~
mondoshawan
A VPN is beyond most users understanding -- even trivial ones -- and guiding
someone to a reputable one will be difficult at best.

ISPs may have regional scale, but the big ones, Comcast, Verizon, etc. run
significant parts of the internet's uplinks and switching infrastructure, and
you can bet it's not just outgoing traffic they snoop. They have been caught
with their fingers in the cookie jar many many times. At least with FB and
Google you can choose not to use their services and block their trackers. You
can't choose where your packets flow, and in many regions there is literally
only one option for bandwidth because of local government sanctioned
monopolies over the infrastructure.

~~~
JumpCrisscross
> _They have been caught with their fingers in the cookie jar_

None of those transgressions resulted in visible, tangible harm the way
Facebook's have.

Would I love to go after the ISPs? Sure. But going after them is falling for
policy perfectionism. Facebook and Google are in the crosshairs. This isn't a
choice between doing something about them or the ISPs; it's a choice between
doing something about them or not. If privacy advocates want to do more than
talk, this is the time to show discipline.

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coffeeacc
I never used facebook, and I'm 80% of my way to being off google - I'm not
worried.

