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I don't see anything in the parent comment that says this is a Google-only issue. Also, the Netflix and Amazon examples don't seem to be in the same category,
by SamBam 7y ago
I don't see anything in the parent comment that says this is a Google-only issue.
Also, the Netflix and Amazon examples don't seem to be in the same category, to me. Every time you interact with Netflix and Amazon, you are doing so deliberately. You are choosing exactly what to give them. You can easily pick another service.
Always-on listening devices, on the other hand, are taking data that you did not choose to give them, and other people's data as well. That's the point in the headline of this article. I would never need to tell guests "If you order something from Amazon, they'll know you ordered it," but apparently I might need to tell them to watch their mouths in my house. There's a big difference.
- jachee 7y ago> Every time you interact with ... Amazon, you are doing so deliberately. Don't forget that Echo devices are Amazon's always-on listening devices.
- SamBam 7y agoYes, sure, but that wasn't what the comment I was replying to was talking about... This is about the difference between always-on listeners, including Echo, and stores where you buy things.
- urda 7y agoEcho's listen for their wake word, which is done on device and offline. It detects the wake word, and then connects to the internet. It is not actively transmitting in the background. If you have proof of echo devices not doing this, you need to yield a source. Wireshark logs, anything.
- outworlder 7y ago> If you have proof of echo devices not doing this, you need to yield a source. Wireshark logs, anything. I suspect most of these comments are from people who don't own, haver never used, let alone sniffed traffic from those devices. They conveniently ignore all the networks (including my own) which will throw a fit if these devices start sending unusual traffic. I'll worry the day they embed a cellular modem.
- BlueTemplar 7y agoAmazon is the only one of the GAFAMs that it's not practical to boycott : boycotting Amazon Web Services breaks a large part of the Web.
- cptskippy 7y agoDoes AWS perform end user tracking?
- tick_tock_tick 7y agoWe don't know for sure.
- sorenn111 7y agoMay I say that I love your use of GAFAM. I always thought FAANG was silly and Netflix was not like the others and was included just to make a good acronym
- XaspR8d 7y agoI agree with the company choices, but the spelling of the acronym worries me that it will be read or intended by some as "gay fam". Particularly since the usage as a generic insult makes semantic sense for disparaging a group of closely related companies... (I guess it's not the only slur it has to avoid with that letter combination though.)
- tomrod 7y agoFAANG for top pay, GAFAM for global dominance?
- BlueTemplar 7y agoIf I'm not mistaken FAANG is more about the Silicon Valley (and the people that might be interested in living/working there). Meanwhile GAFAM is more from the point of view of the users, also Netflix#, as a non-US online presence is pretty new, and let's face it, is only about a specific kind of entertainment - one might then add Valve/Steam as well ! It does bother me when politicians say GAFA and leave out Microsoft (but not Apple??) #Netflix did play an important part in adding DRM to the Web specifications...