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Let me tell you, I didn't even know the "Custom Audience" ad feature even existed on FB until yesterday. In fact I'd somehow missed seeing the ad preferences sc
by jaredcwhite 9y ago
Let me tell you, I didn't even know the "Custom Audience" ad feature even existed on FB until yesterday. In fact I'd somehow missed seeing the ad preferences screen entirely, so I spent some time on that yesterday looking at all the data categories FB has put me in (rather terrifying in and of itself) and saw the bit about "advertisers who submitted your contact information" or whatever it says, and I was like WTF is this?
Here's what disturbs me so much about this — dozens and dozens (possibly hundreds) of companies that were listed there for me I have never interacted with, many of which I'd never even heard of. So obviously these companies purchased third-party email lists, which themselves might have been purchased...who knows...the point is I never directly consented to any of these companies having my email address. BUT, now that they do, they are able to use those lists to target ads to me directly on FB. I consider that spam. If I get unsolicited emails from marketers, that's spam. Therefore, if I see unsolicited ads on FB due to them targeting me directly through my email (or phone number?!), that's spam!
I feel like the vast majority of FB users, and possibly many of the current critics of FB in the media or in government, aren't even talking about this horrible spam problem. In my opinion, Custom Audience is simply evil and should be obliterated from the FB ad platform.
- arachnophobe 9y agoYeah - I came across two senators in my "people who submitted your details" list. Seriously what? How do they have my details and how is it verified that they got them legitimately? I'm in the UK, a UK citizen, have no contact with the US political system, and have only briefly passed through the US. So how have two senators got my details? The email address used is not my spam email, it is, as far as I know not used on sign up does etc. - so how was it found (though I am aware of the extreme irony of calling an email address used on Facebook as a not for spam one)? Facebook and all those who are on that list are going to get a GDPR request come the end of May.
- bmarquez 9y agoSame here. I checked the "Ad Preferences" screen and have hundreds of advertisers who I've never even interacted with and who probably bought a 3rd party spam list. Realistically, how can I be simultaneously a member of the "Florida Anti-Gambling Association" the "Concerned Veterans for Ohio" the "Democratic Legislative Campaign" and the "Republican Governors Association" and XXX for Georgia Senate and YYY for Nevada Senate and dozens of other political causes in states I've never even been to.
- eric_h 9y agoHoly shit. I knew about the custom audience feature (a company I used to work for used it to target existing customers with promotions), but I had no idea how many different companies have submitted presumably my email address to target me. The most surprising to me was numerous entries in that list from almost all of the local state chapters of "Americans for Prosperity" (a David Koch and Karl Rove production). I'm curious which list they used to get my email address.