4 ms·

Being surveiled for advertising purposes is fine

moremetadata 4y ago
Not when adverts are used to psychologically torture you. For example you might be a heterosexual with public views, espousing the virtues of heterosexuallity, without condemning or maligning non heterosexual people. How would you feel if all the adverts you saw were for non heterosexual people, wuld you feel trolled, harassed, intimidated? Now take those same algorithms that were used to target adverts at you for psychological purposes, and apply them to websites displaying news stories and social media like reddit, and search engine results. Would that amplify the feelings of intimidation and harrassment? Because that is exactly what is going on right now perpetrated by the US tech giants with the collusion of the of various states. The mere mention of this activity, could also make you aware or more aware of this so that you can start to spot it being done to you and others around you.
- slackdog 4y ago
  Even without tracking, virtually all advertising is a form of psychological warfare. Here's a common sort of ad: an image depicting young popular people having fun in the park, with cans of cola next to them. The message? If you drink our cola, you can have this lifestyle. This sort of advertising is designed to exploit insecurities people feel about themselves and their social life. This is psychological warfare for commercial gain, and it's standard operating practice for the advertising industry.
  - moremetadata 4y ago
    Yes and the infrastructure to target people individually exists, as noted with the political shenanigans that took place getting Trump into office and the UK to vote for Brexit. Just remember with Brexit, Scots were polled first to see if they wanted indepdence at a time when they thought it would not be possible to get the UK to leave the EU, so they didnt vote for independence. Brexit occurred, and now the Scots want independence in order to rejoing the EU. The timing of questions asked are important, as any court room lawyer will know, especially if the defendants answer can be later associated and used against them. The fact this situation is allowed to exist in the hands of unaccountable people and entities namely businesses, is arguably illegal if the laws were to exist against targeted advertising, but we all know big business would b.e against this. TLDR targeted advertising is a way to psychologically hound people into suicide. Its a murder weapon exploiting the needs of business to be efficient with their advertising spend. The criminal perpetrators rely on their victims keeping quiet because no one wants to be humiliated, in much the same way if your parents were wrong 'uns they rely on that parental bond to keep you quiet.
  - digitalengineer 4y ago
    Its been that what for some time now. Ever since psychology took ground: Happiness Machines, https://youtu.be/DnPmg0R1M04 https://youtu.be/DnPmg0R1M04
slackdog 4y ago
That is misleading, the article doesn't say that.
fnordpiglet 4y ago
Don’t worry EU regulators made a pop up for that, you’re safe now.
autoexec 4y ago
The point is that it's never just "for advertising purposes". It stopped being about ads forever ago. The data that's collected about you "for advertising purposes" ends up being sold to (or just taken by) the government and it ends up in the hands of data brokers and from there it's used by many different groups of people for their own purposes. Companies use that data to decide what products and services they'll tell you they offer, what they'll tell you their policies are, and what prices you'll pay. You might be charged one price and told you have 14 days to make a return, while the next person will be charged less for the same item and be told the return policy is 30 days. Companies are even using that data to decide things like how long to leave you on hold when you call them. Insurance companies use that data to decide how much to charge you. Employers use that data to decide who to hire. Political parties use that data to mislead and manipulate voters. Activists and extremists use that data to watch and target groups and individuals they don't like. Stalkers and abusive partners use that data to track their victims. Police use that data to find suspects and lawyers can use it in court rooms as evidence against you. Being surveilled would (maybe) be okay sometimes if it were only ever used for ads and nothing else, but that's simply not the reality we live in. That data lives forever and whoever has it, or can get it, will use it for whatever they want whenever they want to.

Not when adverts are used to psychologically torture you. For example you might be a heterosexual with public views, espousing the virtues of heterosexuallity, without condemning or maligning non heterosexual people. How would you feel if all the adverts you saw were for non heterosexual people, wuld you feel trolled, harassed, intimidated? Now take those same algorithms that were used to target adverts at you for psychological purposes, and apply them to websites displaying news stories and social media like reddit, and search engine results. Would that amplify the feelings of intimidation and harrassment? Because that is exactly what is going on right now perpetrated by the US tech giants with the collusion of the of various states. The mere mention of this activity, could also make you aware or more aware of this so that you can start to spot it being done to you and others around you.

slackdog 4y ago
Even without tracking, virtually all advertising is a form of psychological warfare. Here's a common sort of ad: an image depicting young popular people having fun in the park, with cans of cola next to them. The message? If you drink our cola, you can have this lifestyle. This sort of advertising is designed to exploit insecurities people feel about themselves and their social life. This is psychological warfare for commercial gain, and it's standard operating practice for the advertising industry.
- moremetadata 4y ago
  Yes and the infrastructure to target people individually exists, as noted with the political shenanigans that took place getting Trump into office and the UK to vote for Brexit. Just remember with Brexit, Scots were polled first to see if they wanted indepdence at a time when they thought it would not be possible to get the UK to leave the EU, so they didnt vote for independence. Brexit occurred, and now the Scots want independence in order to rejoing the EU. The timing of questions asked are important, as any court room lawyer will know, especially if the defendants answer can be later associated and used against them. The fact this situation is allowed to exist in the hands of unaccountable people and entities namely businesses, is arguably illegal if the laws were to exist against targeted advertising, but we all know big business would b.e against this. TLDR targeted advertising is a way to psychologically hound people into suicide. Its a murder weapon exploiting the needs of business to be efficient with their advertising spend. The criminal perpetrators rely on their victims keeping quiet because no one wants to be humiliated, in much the same way if your parents were wrong 'uns they rely on that parental bond to keep you quiet.
- digitalengineer 4y ago
  Its been that what for some time now. Ever since psychology took ground: Happiness Machines, https://youtu.be/DnPmg0R1M04 https://youtu.be/DnPmg0R1M04

slackdog 4y ago

That is misleading, the article doesn't say that.

fnordpiglet 4y ago

Don’t worry EU regulators made a pop up for that, you’re safe now.

autoexec 4y ago

The point is that it's never just "for advertising purposes". It stopped being about ads forever ago. The data that's collected about you "for advertising purposes" ends up being sold to (or just taken by) the government and it ends up in the hands of data brokers and from there it's used by many different groups of people for their own purposes. Companies use that data to decide what products and services they'll tell you they offer, what they'll tell you their policies are, and what prices you'll pay. You might be charged one price and told you have 14 days to make a return, while the next person will be charged less for the same item and be told the return policy is 30 days. Companies are even using that data to decide things like how long to leave you on hold when you call them. Insurance companies use that data to decide how much to charge you. Employers use that data to decide who to hire. Political parties use that data to mislead and manipulate voters. Activists and extremists use that data to watch and target groups and individuals they don't like. Stalkers and abusive partners use that data to track their victims. Police use that data to find suspects and lawyers can use it in court rooms as evidence against you. Being surveilled would (maybe) be okay sometimes if it were only ever used for ads and nothing else, but that's simply not the reality we live in. That data lives forever and whoever has it, or can get it, will use it for whatever they want whenever they want to.