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> Is it really reasonable to think that they don't have even more data than they let you download? No. They have more data. They have lots more data. Browsing

> Is it really reasonable to think that they don't have even more data than they let you download? No. They have more data. They have lots more data. Browsing history for example via trackers. And no, we (Americans) do not have any meaningful laws. Nothing. Nor do we have any rights to privacy. We have no right to know what personal private information is being collected, bought, or sold.

908087 9y ago
Exactly. The number of "This is all of the data Facebook/Google/etc have on you" articles I've seen recently make me want to bang my head on the wall. They absolutely are not letting you download everything they have.
- sixothree 9y ago
  Not just articles, but forums posts as well. I suspect the worst. But hope these authors are just "uninformed".
  - 908087 9y ago
    There was also a rapid and noticeable shift in "public opinion" on Reddit in regards to Facebook/Zuckerberg from overwhelmingly negative to slightly positive just in time for Zuckerberg's hearings. I also suspect the worst here. I've also personally been receiving downvotes here on HN for posting undeniable facts about Facebook (and the data collection practices of other ad companies), but that could just be a result of the numerous FB employees on this site trying to pull the wool over their and our eyes on behalf of their employer.
    - sixothree 9y ago
      I fear the worst here. We hear stories about the armies of people in other countries. We can feel the presence of mainland influences in these threads.
  - paulie_a 9y ago
    When it comes to Facebook, assume the worst and in 6 months find out it was 10x worse
Maarten88 9y ago
As a European, the situation is only slightly better for me. Formally I have some rights, and some things that are legal in the US may be illegal here, but that has not kept any company from doing it anyway. I have yet to receive better privacy in real terms, and hope GDPR will finally make the mass intrusions unprofitable, maybe even criminal. There was the Bye Bye Facebook event here yesterday, 10k people from the Netherlands deleted their Facebook accounts. Personally I'm waiting until may 25 to do this: I hope that after that date, Facebook will be legally required to really delete my data, and be liable if they don't. I'm afraid that before that date, they'll just hide that data from me, and continue adding to it by tracking, and continue selling it to advertisers outside the Facebook site.
- phy6 9y ago
  Can we just change our info to say we're residing in some protected part of Europe? I've already gone in and falsified all of the good stuff, it wouldn't hurt to 'move' again if it means they have to apply an extra layer of privacy/right to forget.
  - Kalium 9y ago
    Under GDPR, entities are allowed to ask you to prove your identity and by implication that you actually qualify for rights under GDPR.
    - phy6 9y ago
      Thanks for that tidbit. It would be nice to be grandfathered in, I can see it being a huge PITA to ask millions of people for proof--which probably gives them even more sensitive data like a photo of an ID. I assume your privacy laws travel with you, so if you travel to/login from the US your privacy rights stay the same?
      - Kalium 9y ago
        What kind of grandfather clause do you imagine? The law basically says that companies are allowed to make you prove it's your data you're trying to delete to deter people using it to delete that of others. They're also allowed to refuse or charge a reasonable fee if they can justify that the request is spurious, unduly burdensome, onerous, etc. Yes, but obviously you've got nothing if you use an US-based service from the US. It's based around companies subject to EU laws, rather than any real notion of citizenship.
sandbags 9y ago
My guess with all of these sites is that they are willing to give me the data I gave them, but not the data they inferred about me or pieced together from other sources. My concern is that this data may be more sensitive and hold more potential for harm than what I gave them (since I was willing to share it with them in the first place).

908087 9y ago

Exactly. The number of "This is all of the data Facebook/Google/etc have on you" articles I've seen recently make me want to bang my head on the wall. They absolutely are not letting you download everything they have.

sixothree 9y ago
Not just articles, but forums posts as well. I suspect the worst. But hope these authors are just "uninformed".
- 908087 9y ago
  There was also a rapid and noticeable shift in "public opinion" on Reddit in regards to Facebook/Zuckerberg from overwhelmingly negative to slightly positive just in time for Zuckerberg's hearings. I also suspect the worst here. I've also personally been receiving downvotes here on HN for posting undeniable facts about Facebook (and the data collection practices of other ad companies), but that could just be a result of the numerous FB employees on this site trying to pull the wool over their and our eyes on behalf of their employer.
  - sixothree 9y ago
    I fear the worst here. We hear stories about the armies of people in other countries. We can feel the presence of mainland influences in these threads.
- paulie_a 9y ago
  When it comes to Facebook, assume the worst and in 6 months find out it was 10x worse

Maarten88 9y ago

As a European, the situation is only slightly better for me. Formally I have some rights, and some things that are legal in the US may be illegal here, but that has not kept any company from doing it anyway. I have yet to receive better privacy in real terms, and hope GDPR will finally make the mass intrusions unprofitable, maybe even criminal. There was the Bye Bye Facebook event here yesterday, 10k people from the Netherlands deleted their Facebook accounts. Personally I'm waiting until may 25 to do this: I hope that after that date, Facebook will be legally required to really delete my data, and be liable if they don't. I'm afraid that before that date, they'll just hide that data from me, and continue adding to it by tracking, and continue selling it to advertisers outside the Facebook site.

phy6 9y ago
Can we just change our info to say we're residing in some protected part of Europe? I've already gone in and falsified all of the good stuff, it wouldn't hurt to 'move' again if it means they have to apply an extra layer of privacy/right to forget.
- Kalium 9y ago
  Under GDPR, entities are allowed to ask you to prove your identity and by implication that you actually qualify for rights under GDPR.
  - phy6 9y ago
    Thanks for that tidbit. It would be nice to be grandfathered in, I can see it being a huge PITA to ask millions of people for proof--which probably gives them even more sensitive data like a photo of an ID. I assume your privacy laws travel with you, so if you travel to/login from the US your privacy rights stay the same?
    - Kalium 9y ago
      What kind of grandfather clause do you imagine? The law basically says that companies are allowed to make you prove it's your data you're trying to delete to deter people using it to delete that of others. They're also allowed to refuse or charge a reasonable fee if they can justify that the request is spurious, unduly burdensome, onerous, etc. Yes, but obviously you've got nothing if you use an US-based service from the US. It's based around companies subject to EU laws, rather than any real notion of citizenship.

sandbags 9y ago

My guess with all of these sites is that they are willing to give me the data I gave them, but not the data they inferred about me or pieced together from other sources. My concern is that this data may be more sensitive and hold more potential for harm than what I gave them (since I was willing to share it with them in the first place).