
Early Facebook and Google investor slams them for “aggressive brain hacking” - unclebucknasty
http://www.businessinsider.com/famous-facebook-and-google-investor-condemns-brain-hacking-2017-8
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merricksb
Earlier discussion:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14959031](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14959031)

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CryoLogic
It's definitely true. Google and Facebook do not care about their users in any
way other than a venue for making more $. Advertising is a toxic business
model that is built around exploiting customers.

I think it will take time, but maybe eventually users will learn and begin
voting with their $ towards non-ad funded platforms.

A big reason why these companies can take advantage of users, is because of
the lack of education around technology. Very few people really know what data
can be collected / inferred.

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Practicality
It's a real problem. Anecdotally, I've talked to several people struggling to
stop clicking on ads so they can keep getting things done. I struggle with it
sometimes as well.

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peteretep
I've never even _heard_ of this problem before. Please could you explain?

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Practicality
Targeted ads. They look like interesting articles but then when you get there
it's just a few facts and then more ads. You end up making somebody money from
ad clicks but never find out the information.

Ironically, the solution is to usually just google the topic, satiate your
curiosity and move on. But I can get stuck in a looking at ads for an hour
before I realize what is happening. It's such a waste.

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grantlmiller
I was really hoping to read that he plans to dedicate all the resources he
made from the success of these companies to creating the solution. Did I miss
that?

Maybe he's just trying to get a bit more attention for himself? (Also, feels
like there is some amount of irony in the click-baity title and that he
published this in an ad supported media outlet.) "I invested early in Google
and Facebook and regret it. I helped create a monster." Original story:
[https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/08/08/my-
google-...](https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/08/08/my-google-and-
facebook-investments-made-fortune-but-now-they-menace/543755001/)

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option
I think it is time for gov regulations on social networks and search engines.
For starters, enforcing basic rights like freedom of speech. Also more
scrutiny into what (ads and content) get shown to minors.

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aryehof
Enforce the basic right to freedom of speech? You mean the right to hate
speech, incitement to violence, bullying, slander, and the freedom to to abuse
protected groups like children? I don't believe in ignorantly pursuing what
has become a slogan for the unthinking.

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option
Apparently you've never lived in a state with censorship like I did (it was
USSR). Never again.

