
Facebook fail to convince lawmakers it needs to track your location at all times - reddotX
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/17/facebook-responds-to-senators-questions-on-location-tracking-policy.html
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rahuldottech
> Facebook told two senators why it tracks users’ locations even when their
> tracking services are turned off. The lawmakers now say Facebook should give
> users more control over their data.

> Facebook said that even when location tracking is turned off, it can deduce
> users’ general locations from context clues like locations they tag in
> photos as well as their devices’ IP addresses.

> While this data is not as precise as Facebook would collect with location
> tracking enabled, the company said it uses the information for several
> purposes, including alerting users when their accounts have been accessed in
> an unusual place and clamping down on the spread of false information.

> Facebook doesn’t allow users to turn off location-based ads, although it
> does allow users to block Facebook from collecting their precise location,
> the company wrote.

If I say I don't want you to track my location, I mean exactly that. Not
respecting users' wishes like this is a terrible thing to do.

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generalpass
> If I say I don't want you to track my location, I mean exactly that. Not
> respecting users' wishes like this is a terrible thing to do.

Isn't this more of an OS level issue?

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Daniel_sk
OS can block access to location, but they can still have a coarse location
from your IP, tagged photos, checked-in locations, message content and so on.
Disabling location tracking in FB should also disable this on the FB server
side.

~~~
generalpass
> Disabling location tracking in FB should also disable this on the FB server
> side.

Facebook is free to do with their servers as they please. Don't like it? Don't
use it. I don't.

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zepto
How do we know you aren’t lying?

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Grakel
The FB mobile website works perfectly fine except for messenger.

~~~
Nursie
mbasic.facebook.com

It's not a great looking site, but you can read and respond to messages on
there.

~~~
OrgNet
there's also a Firefox extension that can unblock "messenger"...

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avalys
Why does the government need to stick their fingers in this? No one needs
Facebook. If you’re not happy with the product or with the company’s ethics,
stop using it.

~~~
chongli
Because you can’t opt out. Facebook creates shadow profiles for people who
have never created an account. They track people’s faces in photos they appear
in that were posted by friends. They link people’s personal information to
their shadow profile whenever a user allows Facebook to access their address
book contacts.

Facebook is a pervasive, all-consuming data monster. If lawmakers don’t rein
it in, it will grow so powerful that it will challenge the sovereignty of
governments. It’s not a joke.

~~~
avalys
By what mechanism does an individual suffer harm through this shadow profile?

In what way do you imagine Facebook challenging the sovereignty of a
government?

~~~
gdhbcc
They are having data about themselves collected without their consent. That is
the harm.

~~~
avalys
In what way is that harmful to them?

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throwaheyy
Are you being wilfully obtuse?

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craftinator
Does taking photographs of a mountain harm it? Articulate your reasoning,
rather and resorting to vague insinuations.

~~~
austhrow743
At some point in the reasoning chain you reach the bad thing that is bad
because its intrinsically bad and if you try to reason more you'll just go in
circles. Or you enter a philosophical debate of such depth that it's stupid to
have it with internet strangers.

Drink driving is bad.

Why is that?

You might cause a crash.

Why is that bad?

People could die.

Why is that bad?

They'll be dead.

Why is that bad.

They don't get to exist any more.

Articulate your reasoning!!!!

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calmworm
FB is poison. Do not ingest.

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nathan_compton
All they need to do to convince lawmakers is to offer them the data, I bet.

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ben7799
Delete your account already. No one here can act like they didn't know what FB
is like.

