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Yeah, while the article mentions it couldn't be used to track the user or their friends preferences it seems this could be used to track advertisers. I'm sure
by kapp_in_life 5y ago
Yeah, while the article mentions it couldn't be used to track the user or their friends preferences it seems this could be used to track advertisers.
I'm sure Adidas would be very interested to know with 99% confidence that Nike's ads are currently focused on people in X, Y, and Z cities in the southwestern US. And as we've seen with Cambridge Analytica, its somewhat naive to trust researchers vacuuming data to do so in good faith.
Not even to say how other adtech companies might be interested in data about how Facebook is doing ad targeting.
- mola 5y agoI don't think Cambridge analytica is relevant here. The researchers there were shady and not transparent from the get go. They hid their true intentions by masquerading their research tool as a game. They never invited third parties to scrutinize their work, all in all they acted just the opposite from how the Ad Observer team acted. Trust is difficult, but it's mandatory for a functioning society. We have tools to appreciate trustworthiness, transparency is one of these tools. Not being for profit is another good indicator.