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Stuff like this makes me so mad. 1. I don't have an account on Facebook. 2. Blocked Facebook domains via /etc/hosts 3. Use ghostery And despite all of these s

Stuff like this makes me so mad. 1. I don't have an account on Facebook. 2. Blocked Facebook domains via /etc/hosts 3. Use ghostery And despite all of these steps it feels like we are wasting our brightest minds to always be a step ahead in surveilling what the humans of this world are doing to exploit it for targeted advertising.

TAForObvReasons 9y ago
Rest assured, many of the brightest minds are aware of Facebook's business models and incentives, and many of them predicted the current situation and rejected the company many years ago.
- IntronExon 9y ago
  ...and promptly took a job at a Google? Sorry, but someone is working for these companies, and they’re clearly bright enough to make the necessary tools. I’m sure some extremely bright and principled people refuse to work with anything like an Orwellian nightmare, but enough do to make up the difference.
  - simion314 9y ago
    Do you think that the code that tracks loggedin and not loggedin users differs much? I assume is the same tracking code, but if you are not loggedin FB and Google will give you an unique ID but after that they collect same data, they will need to add some code for merging data if they find that 2 different IDs are the same person. I am not defending FB, my point is that you do not need an army of geniuses to extend the tracking to everyone.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
oh_sigh 9y ago
Perhaps there should be a central clearinghouse for people who don't want to be tracked by certain sites. How can you tell facebook to not track you without a facebook account? The best you can do is block various known IPs or other patterns which are bound to change over time.
- volgo 9y ago
  >How can you tell facebook to not track you without a facebook account? That's the wrong question to ask. You shouldn't have to tell it not to track you. That shouldn't be able to do it, unless you explicitly tell them "hey you can track me."
  - tachyoff 9y ago
    Precisely. The Overton window for this topic seems to have shifted pretty far. The default position should be one of positive consent and assumed privacy. But then again, I think it’s all moot considering that Facebook’s existence is predicated on them collecting data. Asking them to do less of it is like asking a plant to stop photosynthesizing. That is to say: it’s their whole raison d’être, which means they won’t change it without a little encouragement from third parties.
  - unclebucknasty 9y ago
    If only. That battle seems to have been lost long ago, at least in the U.S. Google, Criteo and other have long had a default opt-in policy for their retargeting products, etc.
  - oh_sigh 9y ago
    You're the one in control of your browser. You know it's side effects when you load pages.
    - A_No_Name_Mouse 9y ago
      Internet had become an integral part of everyday life. This is like saying air pollution is not a problem, just don't breathe all the time. Or is my sarcasm sensor not working this morning?
      - TomMarius 9y ago
        Your metaphor is incorrect.
    - 9y ago
matthewaveryusa 9y ago
If you apply your mind doing something evil you're evil and no amount of brilliance can justify it. The visceral example I like to use is: I admire efficiency and leaders, hitler was efficient and a leader, yet I don't admire hitler.
feelin_googley 9y ago
This comment suggests Facebooks ability to "grow their business" via third-party hosted beacons, etc. relies on users not editing their /etc/hosts files. (or on not changing the DNS settings on their mobile device to use a nameserver that blocks Facebook domains) How much "brightness" is required to carry out such a strategy? If millions of users followed step 2 (or blocked Facebook domains through another means), what would happen? How would the "brightest minds" respond?

TAForObvReasons 9y ago

Rest assured, many of the brightest minds are aware of Facebook's business models and incentives, and many of them predicted the current situation and rejected the company many years ago.

IntronExon 9y ago
...and promptly took a job at a Google? Sorry, but someone is working for these companies, and they’re clearly bright enough to make the necessary tools. I’m sure some extremely bright and principled people refuse to work with anything like an Orwellian nightmare, but enough do to make up the difference.
- simion314 9y ago
  Do you think that the code that tracks loggedin and not loggedin users differs much? I assume is the same tracking code, but if you are not loggedin FB and Google will give you an unique ID but after that they collect same data, they will need to add some code for merging data if they find that 2 different IDs are the same person. I am not defending FB, my point is that you do not need an army of geniuses to extend the tracking to everyone.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]

oh_sigh 9y ago

Perhaps there should be a central clearinghouse for people who don't want to be tracked by certain sites. How can you tell facebook to not track you without a facebook account? The best you can do is block various known IPs or other patterns which are bound to change over time.

volgo 9y ago
>How can you tell facebook to not track you without a facebook account? That's the wrong question to ask. You shouldn't have to tell it not to track you. That shouldn't be able to do it, unless you explicitly tell them "hey you can track me."
- tachyoff 9y ago
  Precisely. The Overton window for this topic seems to have shifted pretty far. The default position should be one of positive consent and assumed privacy. But then again, I think it’s all moot considering that Facebook’s existence is predicated on them collecting data. Asking them to do less of it is like asking a plant to stop photosynthesizing. That is to say: it’s their whole raison d’être, which means they won’t change it without a little encouragement from third parties.
- unclebucknasty 9y ago
  If only. That battle seems to have been lost long ago, at least in the U.S. Google, Criteo and other have long had a default opt-in policy for their retargeting products, etc.
- oh_sigh 9y ago
  You're the one in control of your browser. You know it's side effects when you load pages.
  - A_No_Name_Mouse 9y ago
    Internet had become an integral part of everyday life. This is like saying air pollution is not a problem, just don't breathe all the time. Or is my sarcasm sensor not working this morning?
    - TomMarius 9y ago
      Your metaphor is incorrect.
  - 9y ago

matthewaveryusa 9y ago

If you apply your mind doing something evil you're evil and no amount of brilliance can justify it. The visceral example I like to use is: I admire efficiency and leaders, hitler was efficient and a leader, yet I don't admire hitler.

feelin_googley 9y ago

This comment suggests Facebooks ability to "grow their business" via third-party hosted beacons, etc. relies on users not editing their /etc/hosts files. (or on not changing the DNS settings on their mobile device to use a nameserver that blocks Facebook domains) How much "brightness" is required to carry out such a strategy? If millions of users followed step 2 (or blocked Facebook domains through another means), what would happen? How would the "brightest minds" respond?