4 ms·

How about not singling out FB and forbid the same to Google and others as well?

by melted 11y ago

Maarten88 11y ago
Yes, LinkedIn is another offender that I'm sure also does this, even more aggressively than Facebook. They blatantly try to download your contact list by directly asking your email password to build shadow profiles and propose new contacts. And I guess WhatsApp probably also used the same practice to grow their network, using contact lists extracted from phones. As I understand it, these practices are simply illegal in the EU and always were. Regrettably, the billions that were made this way (mostly by US companies) will probably never be returned.
- peteretep 11y ago
  > And I guess WhatsApp probably also used the same > practice to grow their network ... how would that work? I've never seen WhatsApp offer to let me message someone who didn't have an account.
  - brazzledazzle 11y ago
    I think the idea of a shadow account is that you build the information on the person (from disparate data points, like phone contacts) and their connections. Then when they sign up they are presented with a list of people that have them in their contacts. From a UX perspective it can be nice but I can definitely see the privacy concerns.
  - AJ007 11y ago
    Have you seen WhatsApp contacts show up as suggested friends in Facebook?
ryanhuff 11y ago
A Facebook user is a bit easier to define than a Google user.
icebraining 11y ago
The commission says that, unlike Google, FB was refusing to respond to their questions: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-18/talk-to-us-like-google-belgian-privacy-watchdog-tells-facebook http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-18/talk-to-us...
dasil003 11y ago
Hopefully they do, but you gotta start somewhere...
skwirl 11y ago
Like in their search engine indexes? The EU has been attacking that for a couple of years now.
- melted 11y ago
  No, in the "share on Google+" buttons and in "login with Google" buttons, and with captchas, and who knows what else. There are dozens of companies tracking your every move, Google is just one example.
  - ryanhuff 11y ago
    Adsense "users" (website visitors), Google Analytics "users" (website visitors), etc, etc. Its a deep rabbit hole. Imagine a world where Google can't store all of this data.
    - __jal 11y ago
      I have been, for a while now.
      - ryanhuff 11y ago
        I was referring to Google collecting non-user data as a practice and strategy. What would it mean to them if they were blocked (legislatively) from doing so?
fulafel 11y ago
Are you concerned that they are being unfairly partial by not charging at all the actors at once, or do you feel that addressing Facebook separately is futile for pragmatic reasons?

How about not singling out FB and forbid the same to Google and others as well?

by melted 11y ago

How about not singling out FB and forbid the same to Google and others as well?

Yes, LinkedIn is another offender that I'm sure also does this, even more aggressively than Facebook. They blatantly try to download your contact list by directly asking your email password to build shadow profiles and propose new contacts. And I guess WhatsApp probably also used the same practice to grow their network, using contact lists extracted from phones. As I understand it, these practices are simply illegal in the EU and always were. Regrettably, the billions that were made this way (mostly by US companies) will probably never be returned.

peteretep 11y ago
> And I guess WhatsApp probably also used the same > practice to grow their network ... how would that work? I've never seen WhatsApp offer to let me message someone who didn't have an account.
- brazzledazzle 11y ago
  I think the idea of a shadow account is that you build the information on the person (from disparate data points, like phone contacts) and their connections. Then when they sign up they are presented with a list of people that have them in their contacts. From a UX perspective it can be nice but I can definitely see the privacy concerns.
- AJ007 11y ago
  Have you seen WhatsApp contacts show up as suggested friends in Facebook?

ryanhuff 11y ago

A Facebook user is a bit easier to define than a Google user.

icebraining 11y ago

The commission says that, unlike Google, FB was refusing to respond to their questions: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-18/talk-to-us-like-google-belgian-privacy-watchdog-tells-facebook http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-18/talk-to-us...

dasil003 11y ago

Hopefully they do, but you gotta start somewhere...

skwirl 11y ago

Like in their search engine indexes? The EU has been attacking that for a couple of years now.

melted 11y ago
No, in the "share on Google+" buttons and in "login with Google" buttons, and with captchas, and who knows what else. There are dozens of companies tracking your every move, Google is just one example.
- ryanhuff 11y ago
  Adsense "users" (website visitors), Google Analytics "users" (website visitors), etc, etc. Its a deep rabbit hole. Imagine a world where Google can't store all of this data.
  - __jal 11y ago
    I have been, for a while now.
    - ryanhuff 11y ago
      I was referring to Google collecting non-user data as a practice and strategy. What would it mean to them if they were blocked (legislatively) from doing so?

fulafel 11y ago

Are you concerned that they are being unfairly partial by not charging at all the actors at once, or do you feel that addressing Facebook separately is futile for pragmatic reasons?