4 ms·

There's a problem with your reasoning here. Most people do not object to the pooling of data for scientific discovery. They object to the pooling of data by com

There's a problem with your reasoning here. Most people do not object to the pooling of data for scientific discovery. They object to the pooling of data by company that makes its money by exploiting personal information on individuals.

FussyZeus 8y ago
^ Exactly. I have an app on my phone from my insurance company that tracks my every move. I'm fine with it, because their agreement for it's use specifically says that data is not sold to third parties, nor used in any purpose beyond specifically evaluating my driving. And apparently I'm a pretty safe driver because they give me a fair amount of cash back on it. I would never in a million years let a company like Google or Facebook have that kind of info on me.
- golergka 8y ago
  Wow. I had no idea this exists, but I'm very glad it does.
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    Wait until they issue you speeding tickets based on that data. It has happened before (2001) https://tech.slashdot.org/story/01/06/19/187210/rental-car--gps--speeding-ticket https://tech.slashdot.org/story/01/06/19/187210/rental-car--...
    - golergka 8y ago
      I'd be delighted if they made it mandatory. Speeding kills way too many people.
      - rocqua 8y ago
        We know that driving kills a lot of people. I essentially consider that common knowledge. But it is not 'common knowledge' to me that this is due to speeding. Not that I know different, I'm just surprised to see so definite a statement.
- auslander 8y ago
  > specifically says that data is not sold to third parties Businesses are for profit. They'll find ways to monetise the data. Wording 'the data' can be bypassed by modifying it, like extracting location heat maps, and selling it instead of raw data. Or/and they may create a service that uses the data and sell it instead.
- Spooky23 8y ago
  > "their agreement for it's use specifically says that data is not sold to third parties, nor used in any purpose beyond specifically evaluating my driving" Unlikely. The master contract for your insurance company almost certainly allows for information that you provide for a variety of business purposes. Insurance companies pool risk data, and it seems unusual that any negative event would not be shared if captured via this mechanism. Another key thing is to look at the precise wording around "We do not sell your data". That is a weasel-wording that usually means "We will rent your data" or "We will provide your data at no cost to our business partners, for our business purposes".
  - sandworm101 8y ago
    Or, we won't sell/rent "your data" but we certainly sell/rent "our data" collected by the company and not specifically tied to individuals. (Insert long debate about anonymization and/or exactly how few people can be in a pool while still keeping it non-individualized.) It is amazing how many data links can be made with non-PII data points such as vehicle type, color, neighborhood, distance traveled, method of financing ect.

FussyZeus 8y ago

^ Exactly. I have an app on my phone from my insurance company that tracks my every move. I'm fine with it, because their agreement for it's use specifically says that data is not sold to third parties, nor used in any purpose beyond specifically evaluating my driving. And apparently I'm a pretty safe driver because they give me a fair amount of cash back on it. I would never in a million years let a company like Google or Facebook have that kind of info on me.

golergka 8y ago
Wow. I had no idea this exists, but I'm very glad it does.
- sandworm101 8y ago
  Wait until they issue you speeding tickets based on that data. It has happened before (2001) https://tech.slashdot.org/story/01/06/19/187210/rental-car--gps--speeding-ticket https://tech.slashdot.org/story/01/06/19/187210/rental-car--...
  - golergka 8y ago
    I'd be delighted if they made it mandatory. Speeding kills way too many people.
    - rocqua 8y ago
      We know that driving kills a lot of people. I essentially consider that common knowledge. But it is not 'common knowledge' to me that this is due to speeding. Not that I know different, I'm just surprised to see so definite a statement.
auslander 8y ago
> specifically says that data is not sold to third parties Businesses are for profit. They'll find ways to monetise the data. Wording 'the data' can be bypassed by modifying it, like extracting location heat maps, and selling it instead of raw data. Or/and they may create a service that uses the data and sell it instead.
Spooky23 8y ago
> "their agreement for it's use specifically says that data is not sold to third parties, nor used in any purpose beyond specifically evaluating my driving" Unlikely. The master contract for your insurance company almost certainly allows for information that you provide for a variety of business purposes. Insurance companies pool risk data, and it seems unusual that any negative event would not be shared if captured via this mechanism. Another key thing is to look at the precise wording around "We do not sell your data". That is a weasel-wording that usually means "We will rent your data" or "We will provide your data at no cost to our business partners, for our business purposes".
- sandworm101 8y ago
  Or, we won't sell/rent "your data" but we certainly sell/rent "our data" collected by the company and not specifically tied to individuals. (Insert long debate about anonymization and/or exactly how few people can be in a pool while still keeping it non-individualized.) It is amazing how many data links can be made with non-PII data points such as vehicle type, color, neighborhood, distance traveled, method of financing ect.