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I feel like this focus on FB and Google is a misdirection campaign being run by the media conglomerates who are tied in with many of the service providers. Comc

by jrs235 9y ago

I feel like this focus on FB and Google is a misdirection campaign being run by the media conglomerates who are tied in with many of the service providers. Comcast, Verizon, etc. love keeping the public eyes off of them while them suck up our viewing and visiting information. Also, if FB and Google take a hit and can't be the incumbent ad and marketing platforms then the providers will become enriched as advertisers flock to them. The providers hate competition. Just look at all the selection and competition we don't have. Yes, it's important to know what FB and Google are doing but I think it's hurting us by not focusing on ALL companies.

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> Comcast, Verizon, etc. love keeping the public eyes off of them while them suck up our viewing and visiting information One, this is trivially defensible against with a VPN. Two, ISPs have regional scale; Facebook and Google are international. Three, we have actual evidence of Facebook repeatedly dropping the ball and causing tangible harm on multiple continents. We don’t have the latter for ISPs nor Google (in respect of the latter, outside YouTube).
- mondoshawan 9y ago
  A VPN is beyond most users understanding -- even trivial ones -- and guiding someone to a reputable one will be difficult at best. ISPs may have regional scale, but the big ones, Comcast, Verizon, etc. run significant parts of the internet's uplinks and switching infrastructure, and you can bet it's not just outgoing traffic they snoop. They have been caught with their fingers in the cookie jar many many times. At least with FB and Google you can choose not to use their services and block their trackers. You can't choose where your packets flow, and in many regions there is literally only one option for bandwidth because of local government sanctioned monopolies over the infrastructure.
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > They have been caught with their fingers in the cookie jar None of those transgressions resulted in visible, tangible harm the way Facebook's have. Would I love to go after the ISPs? Sure. But going after them is falling for policy perfectionism. Facebook and Google are in the crosshairs. This isn't a choice between doing something about them or the ISPs; it's a choice between doing something about them or not. If privacy advocates want to do more than talk, this is the time to show discipline.
_jal 9y ago
No conspiracy needed. This is what passes for a "national conversation" in the US, and it is always narrowly focused. They'll be back to CEO-worship and kids eating soap soon enough.
JoshMnem 9y ago
Go contact the journalists and inform them of the issue. It's a step-by-step process. The others will get their turn.

by jrs235 9y ago

JumpCrisscross 9y ago

> Comcast, Verizon, etc. love keeping the public eyes off of them while them suck up our viewing and visiting information One, this is trivially defensible against with a VPN. Two, ISPs have regional scale; Facebook and Google are international. Three, we have actual evidence of Facebook repeatedly dropping the ball and causing tangible harm on multiple continents. We don’t have the latter for ISPs nor Google (in respect of the latter, outside YouTube).

mondoshawan 9y ago
A VPN is beyond most users understanding -- even trivial ones -- and guiding someone to a reputable one will be difficult at best. ISPs may have regional scale, but the big ones, Comcast, Verizon, etc. run significant parts of the internet's uplinks and switching infrastructure, and you can bet it's not just outgoing traffic they snoop. They have been caught with their fingers in the cookie jar many many times. At least with FB and Google you can choose not to use their services and block their trackers. You can't choose where your packets flow, and in many regions there is literally only one option for bandwidth because of local government sanctioned monopolies over the infrastructure.
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > They have been caught with their fingers in the cookie jar None of those transgressions resulted in visible, tangible harm the way Facebook's have. Would I love to go after the ISPs? Sure. But going after them is falling for policy perfectionism. Facebook and Google are in the crosshairs. This isn't a choice between doing something about them or the ISPs; it's a choice between doing something about them or not. If privacy advocates want to do more than talk, this is the time to show discipline.

_jal 9y ago

No conspiracy needed. This is what passes for a "national conversation" in the US, and it is always narrowly focused. They'll be back to CEO-worship and kids eating soap soon enough.

JoshMnem 9y ago

Go contact the journalists and inform them of the issue. It's a step-by-step process. The others will get their turn.