4 ms·

i would like an open source browser that shares data collected from all its users. so the public can have access to the types of data google et al have.

autoexec 4y ago
> i would like an open source browser that shares data collected from all its users. so the public can have access to the types of data google et al have. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. The public once got a hold of a sample of the anonymized searches of AOL customers and it didn't take long for individuals to get identified. The amount of data google has on people goes far beyond the things they search for or the sites they visit. A web browser that publishes everyone's browsing habits for the public would also get collected by data brokers and 'google et al' to be exploited for their own gain. Who would sign up to use that? I'm pretty sure that if the data google has were ever made available to the public, as soon as the first congress person reviewed their own dossier we'd see laws passed very quickly banning the use of that data and perhaps even preventing it from being collected in the first place. I imagine any popular browser or project exposing their users similarly would have the same problem.
- mr-pink 4y ago
  either the data collection should be banned or everyone should have access. why should monopolies like google and those who can afford access to data brokers get to extend their power indefinitely? why do people support snowden's leaks but no one is leaking similar shit from google? it can be a payment for releasing your data publicly if people don't want to give it up for free.
  - mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
    You're right, it should be banned. It should not be legal to covertly(through trackers running on every website, effectively spyware) catalogue people's browsing habits like that. Although I'll give you this. A massive leak might stir up the public outrage necessary to convince the US Congress to actually do something about it.
  - autoexec 4y ago
    > why do people support snowden's leaks but no one is leaking similar shit from google? Whistleblowers are very rare creatures to begin with. Not too many people are willing to risk the legal, financial and career ending repercussions assuming that they even have both access to the data and a means to copy it in bulk to back up their revelations. Even now, a large number of people would sadly still consider Snowden to be a traitor. I imagine Google keeps the data they collect (and more importantly what they've inferred about us using the data they collect) under tight controls to avoid that problem. With only a limited number of people able to access the trove of data at all, and those people being kept happy (or perhaps more pessimistically, kept in line by fear. I mean let's face it, Google likely has enough dirt to bury any one of us alive) it's not hard to imagine that no one has been willing or able to come forward.
  - dmitriid 4y ago
    > either the data collection should be banned GDPR
  - somenameforme 4y ago
    Real whistleblowers acting against the interests of the powerful within a society need to be willing to sacrifice their own lives (and even possibly putting their family and loved ones at risk as well) for ideology. And by definition of being at a point to have access to such information, they also are probably at a position in life where not doing so would allow them to continue to lead an extremely comfortable life. And ultimately, it may not even matter. Snowden's leaks revealed that basically every single privacy related conspiracy theory of times past was true. They showed that the NSA had are not only trading your nudes [1], but even have spies all the way down into things like World of Warcraft and XBox Live [2]. They also demonstrated countless illegal acts that violated every single possible interpretation of the 4th amendment. And now? Snowden is holed up in some place in Russia knowing full well he'll likely getting Assanged, or worse, if he ever steps foot in a place friendly to the US. And the powers that be? They've only become more flagrant in all of their violations, endlessly protected from the law by a mixture of national security and lack of standing legal claims. Don't underestimate what genuinely leaking against the interests of the powerful entails. People like Snowden are truly unique and selfless individuals. [1] - https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/ https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-s... [2] - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-nsa-was-spying-in-world-of-warcraft-180948120/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-nsa-was-spying...
- somenameforme 4y ago
  > "I'm pretty sure that if the data google has were ever made available to the public, as soon as the first congress person reviewed their own dossier we'd see laws passed very quickly banning the use of that data and perhaps even preventing it from being collected in the first place." And now consider the alternative world, the one we happen to live in, where it's all private unless it somehow ends up getting "hacked" or "leaked" to the public, indirectly of course. And it'd be a shame if that happened wouldn't it Mr. Senator.
  - autoexec 4y ago
    You aren't wrong. The amount of power Google has is outright dangerous. Amazon and Microsoft aren't far behind. To make matters worse, we should assume the state has every scrap of data these companies have collected as well. It's a lot of power to have and I imagine it could be used to quickly identify upcoming threats to those in power while also providing a lot of ammo to use against them.

autoexec 4y ago

> i would like an open source browser that shares data collected from all its users. so the public can have access to the types of data google et al have. That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. The public once got a hold of a sample of the anonymized searches of AOL customers and it didn't take long for individuals to get identified. The amount of data google has on people goes far beyond the things they search for or the sites they visit. A web browser that publishes everyone's browsing habits for the public would also get collected by data brokers and 'google et al' to be exploited for their own gain. Who would sign up to use that? I'm pretty sure that if the data google has were ever made available to the public, as soon as the first congress person reviewed their own dossier we'd see laws passed very quickly banning the use of that data and perhaps even preventing it from being collected in the first place. I imagine any popular browser or project exposing their users similarly would have the same problem.

mr-pink 4y ago
either the data collection should be banned or everyone should have access. why should monopolies like google and those who can afford access to data brokers get to extend their power indefinitely? why do people support snowden's leaks but no one is leaking similar shit from google? it can be a payment for releasing your data publicly if people don't want to give it up for free.
- mtlmtlmtlmtl 4y ago
  You're right, it should be banned. It should not be legal to covertly(through trackers running on every website, effectively spyware) catalogue people's browsing habits like that. Although I'll give you this. A massive leak might stir up the public outrage necessary to convince the US Congress to actually do something about it.
- autoexec 4y ago
  > why do people support snowden's leaks but no one is leaking similar shit from google? Whistleblowers are very rare creatures to begin with. Not too many people are willing to risk the legal, financial and career ending repercussions assuming that they even have both access to the data and a means to copy it in bulk to back up their revelations. Even now, a large number of people would sadly still consider Snowden to be a traitor. I imagine Google keeps the data they collect (and more importantly what they've inferred about us using the data they collect) under tight controls to avoid that problem. With only a limited number of people able to access the trove of data at all, and those people being kept happy (or perhaps more pessimistically, kept in line by fear. I mean let's face it, Google likely has enough dirt to bury any one of us alive) it's not hard to imagine that no one has been willing or able to come forward.
- dmitriid 4y ago
  > either the data collection should be banned GDPR
- somenameforme 4y ago
  Real whistleblowers acting against the interests of the powerful within a society need to be willing to sacrifice their own lives (and even possibly putting their family and loved ones at risk as well) for ideology. And by definition of being at a point to have access to such information, they also are probably at a position in life where not doing so would allow them to continue to lead an extremely comfortable life. And ultimately, it may not even matter. Snowden's leaks revealed that basically every single privacy related conspiracy theory of times past was true. They showed that the NSA had are not only trading your nudes [1], but even have spies all the way down into things like World of Warcraft and XBox Live [2]. They also demonstrated countless illegal acts that violated every single possible interpretation of the 4th amendment. And now? Snowden is holed up in some place in Russia knowing full well he'll likely getting Assanged, or worse, if he ever steps foot in a place friendly to the US. And the powers that be? They've only become more flagrant in all of their violations, endlessly protected from the law by a mixture of national security and lack of standing legal claims. Don't underestimate what genuinely leaking against the interests of the powerful entails. People like Snowden are truly unique and selfless individuals. [1] - https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-snowden/ https://time.com/3010649/nsa-sexually-explicit-photographs-s... [2] - https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-nsa-was-spying-in-world-of-warcraft-180948120/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-nsa-was-spying...
somenameforme 4y ago
> "I'm pretty sure that if the data google has were ever made available to the public, as soon as the first congress person reviewed their own dossier we'd see laws passed very quickly banning the use of that data and perhaps even preventing it from being collected in the first place." And now consider the alternative world, the one we happen to live in, where it's all private unless it somehow ends up getting "hacked" or "leaked" to the public, indirectly of course. And it'd be a shame if that happened wouldn't it Mr. Senator.
- autoexec 4y ago
  You aren't wrong. The amount of power Google has is outright dangerous. Amazon and Microsoft aren't far behind. To make matters worse, we should assume the state has every scrap of data these companies have collected as well. It's a lot of power to have and I imagine it could be used to quickly identify upcoming threats to those in power while also providing a lot of ammo to use against them.