4 ms·

What the hell does the recent Russian hostility has to do with this? Sanctions? You mean that the privacy laws that have been ignored and laughed at are not a b

What the hell does the recent Russian hostility has to do with this? Sanctions? You mean that the privacy laws that have been ignored and laughed at are not a bad enough violation? Apparently it's not, huh. Google and Facebook have been extremely anti-privacy since practically their inception but suddenly NOW it's a problem because an attached Russian company has been doing what Google has been enabling any company to do, for decades? Gosh. If that's how humanity can be made to react to public safety issues that I am seriously not impressed by our race, to put it diplomatically and mildly.

jollybean 4y ago
It's not about privacy from companies who want to sell you vitamins, it's about Russian government wanting to know who you are so they can target you with political misinformation etc..
- pdimitar 4y ago
  I get that. But what makes people think this has not been going on -- with many other governments (plus Russia) -- since Google and Facebook ads became a thing? I am pretty sure it was happening for a long time.
- angio 4y ago
  If the US had serious privacy protection rules there would be no data to sell to russian companies. Obviously that also means there would be no data to pass to 3 letter agencies, so probably we won't see them any time soon.
- freeflight 4y ago
  > it's about Russian government wanting to know who you are so they can target you with political misinformation Which is something not only Russia is doing with that information, it's a very widespread practice [0] and one that many think should be considered a bigger issue itself, rather than who makes use of it. [0] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-29/the-german-far-right-finds-friends-through-facebook https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-29/the-germa...
burkaman 4y ago
> Google and Facebook have been extremely anti-privacy since practically their inception but suddenly NOW it's a problem because an attached Russian company has been doing what Google has been enabling any company to do, for decades? Propublica has been reporting on Google and Facebook (and others) privacy issues for most of their 15 year history. See their Dragnets series: https://www.propublica.org/series/dragnets https://www.propublica.org/series/dragnets A few examples: 2010: https://www.propublica.org/article/governments-increasingly-ask-google-for-user-data-in-criminal-matters https://www.propublica.org/article/governments-increasingly-... 2012: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-best-reporting-on-facebook-and-your-privacy https://www.propublica.org/article/the-best-reporting-on-fac... 2012/2014: https://www.propublica.org/article/no-warrant-no-problem-how-the-government-can-still-get-your-digital-data https://www.propublica.org/article/no-warrant-no-problem-how... 2014: https://www.propublica.org/article/its-complicated-facebooks-history-of-tracking-you https://www.propublica.org/article/its-complicated-facebooks... 2016: https://www.propublica.org/article/google-has-quietly-dropped-ban-on-personally-identifiable-web-tracking https://www.propublica.org/article/google-has-quietly-droppe... 2016: https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-users-everything-it-really-knows-about-them https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-user... Why would this topic be suddenly out of bounds now that Russia is involved?
- pdimitar 4y ago
  > Why would this topic be suddenly out of bounds now that Russia is involved? I did not say that. I am saying: everybody makes use of that info and that's the real issue that must be fought tooth and nail. Not "hey, just now we realized that the Russians have access to this info, sh1t is real, let's stop them!". Meh. What about China? What about a lot of other countries that definitely don't mean you well? My point was that Russia having access to this info is (1) nothing new, and (2) the smaller issue because everybody with some money and having the ear of Google/Facebook has access to the info. Suddenly going back to the Cold War mentality of "Russia bad" is not helping the world at all. There are other villains out there and we must be vigilant. I cynically know that people rally when they have a singular big villain but that's a laughable view of the world that never worked in practice.

jollybean 4y ago

It's not about privacy from companies who want to sell you vitamins, it's about Russian government wanting to know who you are so they can target you with political misinformation etc..

pdimitar 4y ago
I get that. But what makes people think this has not been going on -- with many other governments (plus Russia) -- since Google and Facebook ads became a thing? I am pretty sure it was happening for a long time.
angio 4y ago
If the US had serious privacy protection rules there would be no data to sell to russian companies. Obviously that also means there would be no data to pass to 3 letter agencies, so probably we won't see them any time soon.
freeflight 4y ago
> it's about Russian government wanting to know who you are so they can target you with political misinformation Which is something not only Russia is doing with that information, it's a very widespread practice [0] and one that many think should be considered a bigger issue itself, rather than who makes use of it. [0] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-29/the-german-far-right-finds-friends-through-facebook https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-09-29/the-germa...

burkaman 4y ago

> Google and Facebook have been extremely anti-privacy since practically their inception but suddenly NOW it's a problem because an attached Russian company has been doing what Google has been enabling any company to do, for decades? Propublica has been reporting on Google and Facebook (and others) privacy issues for most of their 15 year history. See their Dragnets series: https://www.propublica.org/series/dragnets https://www.propublica.org/series/dragnets A few examples: 2010: https://www.propublica.org/article/governments-increasingly-ask-google-for-user-data-in-criminal-matters https://www.propublica.org/article/governments-increasingly-... 2012: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-best-reporting-on-facebook-and-your-privacy https://www.propublica.org/article/the-best-reporting-on-fac... 2012/2014: https://www.propublica.org/article/no-warrant-no-problem-how-the-government-can-still-get-your-digital-data https://www.propublica.org/article/no-warrant-no-problem-how... 2014: https://www.propublica.org/article/its-complicated-facebooks-history-of-tracking-you https://www.propublica.org/article/its-complicated-facebooks... 2016: https://www.propublica.org/article/google-has-quietly-dropped-ban-on-personally-identifiable-web-tracking https://www.propublica.org/article/google-has-quietly-droppe... 2016: https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-users-everything-it-really-knows-about-them https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-doesnt-tell-user... Why would this topic be suddenly out of bounds now that Russia is involved?

pdimitar 4y ago
> Why would this topic be suddenly out of bounds now that Russia is involved? I did not say that. I am saying: everybody makes use of that info and that's the real issue that must be fought tooth and nail. Not "hey, just now we realized that the Russians have access to this info, sh1t is real, let's stop them!". Meh. What about China? What about a lot of other countries that definitely don't mean you well? My point was that Russia having access to this info is (1) nothing new, and (2) the smaller issue because everybody with some money and having the ear of Google/Facebook has access to the info. Suddenly going back to the Cold War mentality of "Russia bad" is not helping the world at all. There are other villains out there and we must be vigilant. I cynically know that people rally when they have a singular big villain but that's a laughable view of the world that never worked in practice.