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Trump’s data-hungry, invasive app
- bradknowles 6y agoThe real title of the article is “Trump’s data-hungry, invasive app is a voter surveillance tool of extraordinary power”.
- bradknowles 6y agoThe subtitle is “Both presidential campaigns use apps to capture data—but Trump's scoops up your identity, your location, and even your phone's Bluetooth functions.”
- dang 6y agoThe full article title doesn't fit HN's 80-char limit, so needs to be shortened. The submitted title was "Data-hungry, invasive app is a voter surveillance tool of extraordinary power", which would normally be fine, but popping Trump off the head of the list was probably too much of a change, so made the title above be a prefix of the original, instead of a suffix.
- dctoedt 6y agoYes, the title needs to reflect that it's the Trump campaign's app.
- justinclift 6y agohttps://archive.vn/QZH5K https://archive.vn/QZH5K
- monksy 6y agoAre they essentially doing contact tracing/tracking with the bluetooth functionality?
- Redoubts 6y agoThey're exploiting beacons for free location info. "The use of Bluetooth is especially notable because it can capture data and target people with political messages as they travel through a physical space. This practice has jumped to politics from the advertising industry. In one recent example, Bluetooth beacons (the radio transmitters used to track cell-phone users via Bluetooth signals) were found in campaign yard signs [https://mashable.com/article/beacons-location-tracking-republican-campaign/ https://mashable.com/article/beacons-location-tracking-repub...]. In another, people were surveilled using these practices when they went to church. Our team has been exploring how this phenomenon—which we term geo-propaganda—has increased."
- monksy 6y agoThe fixed points doesn't surprise me. However, I would suspect that they're using it to identify other devices nearby that aren't apart of the volunteered group.
- cumcastsucks 6y agoORANGE MAN BADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
- hwestiii 6y agoThe naive assumption about this is that it will be used to rally supporters with suspicious or specious “information”, but it makes me wonder about the opposite. With enough user data and backend analysis, you could probably also use it as a platform to depress or discourage the activity or engagement of users determined not to support Trump. Like providing incorrect info about local voting times, regulations, etc.
- downvoteme1 6y agoAs bad as the app is, as long as it is not illegal and the users knowingly install it, I don’t see a problem with it . The Biden campaign is also free to develop such an app and target their supporters. The key to winning any election is getting your voter base excited to vote. If they targeted messaging keeps your voter base on their toes and makes them rush to the polls in November, what is the harm.
- johannes1234321 6y agoAn issue is that if you target your messages you take the messages out of a general debate and leave them uncontested. The individual receiver however can't verify the message easily.
- Nextgrid 6y agoThis is one of many reasons why I think targeted advertising should be regulated or outright outlawed. Even outside politics, it allows a malicious actor to target their ads to vulnerable targets (whether it’s kids for scammy “games” full of in-app purchases, dubious “medication” for sick & desperate people, or malware to non-tech-savvy people) while flying under the radar of those who would be able to fact-check and call out the scam.
- dathinab 6y agoYes, targeted advertisement is already massively abused. Furthermore we already know different "better" advertisement models.
- downvoteme1 6y agoAs bad as it sounds, but in the age of 128 character twitter messages , the voters do not care about debating ideas. Most of them have already formed their opinions on whom to vote for ? The only thing left to do for both campaigns is to drive the people out to vote. That is where these apps become useful. Most of the messages pushed by these apps are not positive messages about the candidate - instead they are negative messages about the opposition . The key is to always keep your voters eager to vote. In fact, I would argue that democrats need this kind of an app much more than Republicans as their voters are much more fickle.
- 0xy 6y agoThis isn't novel, and may even be less invasive than tactics used in 2016 by the Trump campaign and in 2012 by the Obama campaign. Both of those campaigns siphoned data from Facebook without consent of any of the users. Trump famously used Cambridge Analytica, while Obama for America's Director of Data Integration and Media Analytics built up a huge database of every American voter using data siphoned from the API used by Cambridge Analytica. [1] At least now they're explicitly asking for permission (and you actually have to download an uber-partisan app in the first place). [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/facebooks-rules-for-accessing-user-data-lured-more-than-just-cambridge-analytica/2018/03/19/31f6979c-658e-43d6-a71f-afdd8bf1308b_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/facebooks-ru...
- vkou 6y agoReal-time location data, depending on the context, can be much more dangerous than Facebook data. Specifically, it can be dangerous to your immediate health.
- Animats 6y agoLocation info will allow identification of people who downloaded the app but are not showing location behavior typical of Trump's base. Those people become persons of interest and can be dealt with later.
- rosstex 6y ago>can be dealt with later mob style?
- zaroth 6y agoThis is an app that supporters choose to install on their own phones. I’d be much more interested to read about how cellphone location tracking is used to geotarget campaign ads to unwilling recipients who have not opted in to receive messages from the campaign, or have their location data shared. https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-political-groups-are-harvesting-data-from-protesters-11592156142 https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-political-groups-are-harves...
- aspenmayer 6y agoThese tactics might allow coordination in ways which are not allowed under federal campaign finance regulations. Definitely an area that deserves intense scrutiny.
- radomysisky 6y agoBut BLM through ActBlue (DNC) aren't skirting those same regulations?
- CamJN 6y agoNice whataboutism.
- jaxn 6y agoAre you saying that BLM are coordinating with canidates for elected office without disclosing the contribution?
- radomysisky 6y agoThey wouldn't need to. Read ActBlue's own fine print: https://secure.actblue.com/content/fineprint https://secure.actblue.com/content/fineprint > In the event that a campaign or committee (a) fails for 60 days to cash a check from ActBlue which includes your contribution (after ActBlue makes repeated attempts to work with the campaign to ensure all checks are cashed), or (b) affirmatively refuses a contribution earmarked through ActBlue, your contribution will be re-designated as a contribution to ActBlue. Contributions to social welfare organizations which are similarly not cashed or affirmatively refused will be kept by ActBlue and used generally to support its social welfare activities. Contributions to charitable organizations which are not cashed or affirmatively refused will go to ActBlue Charities.