3 ms·

After Obama’s comments on the NSA surveillance program back when sh*t was hitting the fan, I’m always keenly parsing these kinds of statements for word play. Th

by sp527 9y ago

After Obama’s comments on the NSA surveillance program back when sh*t was hitting the fan, I’m always keenly parsing these kinds of statements for word play. There’s usually a way out of accountability and liability through evasive rhetoric.

jlgaddis 9y ago
I agree. Really, I don't see why Facebook wouldn't monitor audio like this for targeting ads. If you make money from serving ads, that seems like exactly the kind of thing you would want to do. Like you, I have gotten pretty good at noticing "weasel words" and such in the government's statements (denials). It is clear that they take their time to make sure they word their statements ever so carefully.
- eru 9y ago
  > Really, I don't see why Facebook wouldn't monitor audio like this for targeting ads. Horrible battery life?
  - Kelbit 9y ago
    Anecdotally, Facebook battery performance is pretty poor, it's always the app that drains my battery the fastest. I don't think they care about power consumption.
    - Mindwipe 9y ago
      There's a very significant difference between "Facebook's battery impact is pretty shitty because the app is clunky" and "this would mean the average smartphone standby time would be two hours because it would require a phenomenal amount of power."
  - jlgaddis 9y ago
    From another comment [0] in this thread: > Remember the time they kept the app open in the background on iOS devices by sending an empty audio buffer to the phone for playback? > People started discovering that after iOS introduced the battery/power usage section in the Settings app. They couldn't do it 24/7, of course, but they could certainly take "samples" at regular intervals or in certain locations or something. From my own experience, it doesn't seem that Facebook has ever been worried about battery life or preserving it. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15580748 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15580748
    - Mindwipe 9y ago
      What would be the purpose of taking "samples"? How is this possibly supposed to work?
- Buge 9y ago
  >Really, I don't see why Facebook wouldn't monitor audio like this for targeting ads. Because they'd get hit by huge lawsuits and fines from governments all over the world. Europe is especially hungry to fine US companies for privacy issues. Also it would be terrible for their reputation. Hordes of people would uninstall the app, and even delete their accounts. I would for sure.

by sp527 9y ago

jlgaddis 9y ago

I agree. Really, I don't see why Facebook wouldn't monitor audio like this for targeting ads. If you make money from serving ads, that seems like exactly the kind of thing you would want to do. Like you, I have gotten pretty good at noticing "weasel words" and such in the government's statements (denials). It is clear that they take their time to make sure they word their statements ever so carefully.

eru 9y ago
> Really, I don't see why Facebook wouldn't monitor audio like this for targeting ads. Horrible battery life?
- Kelbit 9y ago
  Anecdotally, Facebook battery performance is pretty poor, it's always the app that drains my battery the fastest. I don't think they care about power consumption.
  - Mindwipe 9y ago
    There's a very significant difference between "Facebook's battery impact is pretty shitty because the app is clunky" and "this would mean the average smartphone standby time would be two hours because it would require a phenomenal amount of power."
- jlgaddis 9y ago
  From another comment [0] in this thread: > Remember the time they kept the app open in the background on iOS devices by sending an empty audio buffer to the phone for playback? > People started discovering that after iOS introduced the battery/power usage section in the Settings app. They couldn't do it 24/7, of course, but they could certainly take "samples" at regular intervals or in certain locations or something. From my own experience, it doesn't seem that Facebook has ever been worried about battery life or preserving it. [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15580748 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15580748
  - Mindwipe 9y ago
    What would be the purpose of taking "samples"? How is this possibly supposed to work?
Buge 9y ago
>Really, I don't see why Facebook wouldn't monitor audio like this for targeting ads. Because they'd get hit by huge lawsuits and fines from governments all over the world. Europe is especially hungry to fine US companies for privacy issues. Also it would be terrible for their reputation. Hordes of people would uninstall the app, and even delete their accounts. I would for sure.