4 ms·

We can block them but what is needed is laws. They'll always find a way. I mean just using your IP enough ad retargeting can be done, their hostility has no con

We can block them but what is needed is laws. They'll always find a way. I mean just using your IP enough ad retargeting can be done, their hostility has no consequence.

catalogia 7y ago
Even if they were legally forbidden from tracking people, ad blocking would still be necessary. Untargeted ads are only marginally less unethical than targeted ads. Even untargetted ads exploit peoples insecurities to sell them things they're better off without. (e.g. cola advertisements that depict young attractive socially active people drinking their product.) That's no less manipulative on a billboard on the side of the road than it is on your personalized facebook feed.
- matheusmoreira 7y ago
  Even if there were no ethical problems with ads, they should still be blocked anyway simply because they're a waste of people's time, bandwidth and attention span.
- eru 7y ago
  Are you sure you are not proving too much here?
  - catalogia 7y ago
    Can you rephrase that question? I did not set out to prove anything, so I'm not sure what you mean.
    - eru 7y ago
      Sorry for the technical jargon, I was referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proving_too_much https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proving_too_much Basically, your argument seems fully generalized: > Even untargetted ads exploit peoples insecurities to sell them things they're better off without. Eg I assume you do not want to demonize bakers selling bread to hungry people? Or more generally, anyone selling any product you do not agree with to someone who has a need you don't like? So where do we draw the line, and why?
matheusmoreira 7y ago
Reducing tracking to IP alone means total victory for users though. We can always use Tor, proxies or VPNs to hide the IP. I'm not saying thay laws shouldn't exist though. I just believe that browsers that are actively hostile to tracking are more effective than laws.

We can block them but what is needed is laws. They'll always find a way. I mean just using your IP enough ad retargeting can be done, their hostility has no consequence.

catalogia 7y ago

Even if they were legally forbidden from tracking people, ad blocking would still be necessary. Untargeted ads are only marginally less unethical than targeted ads. Even untargetted ads exploit peoples insecurities to sell them things they're better off without. (e.g. cola advertisements that depict young attractive socially active people drinking their product.) That's no less manipulative on a billboard on the side of the road than it is on your personalized facebook feed.

matheusmoreira 7y ago
Even if there were no ethical problems with ads, they should still be blocked anyway simply because they're a waste of people's time, bandwidth and attention span.
eru 7y ago
Are you sure you are not proving too much here?
- catalogia 7y ago
  Can you rephrase that question? I did not set out to prove anything, so I'm not sure what you mean.
  - eru 7y ago
    Sorry for the technical jargon, I was referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proving_too_much https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proving_too_much Basically, your argument seems fully generalized: > Even untargetted ads exploit peoples insecurities to sell them things they're better off without. Eg I assume you do not want to demonize bakers selling bread to hungry people? Or more generally, anyone selling any product you do not agree with to someone who has a need you don't like? So where do we draw the line, and why?

matheusmoreira 7y ago

Reducing tracking to IP alone means total victory for users though. We can always use Tor, proxies or VPNs to hide the IP. I'm not saying thay laws shouldn't exist though. I just believe that browsers that are actively hostile to tracking are more effective than laws.