4 ms·

This seems like mostly clickbait? They don't actually share your scores, they share your search history? If you score a 2400 but search for colleges that accept

This seems like mostly clickbait? They don't actually share your scores, they share your search history? If you score a 2400 but search for colleges that accept 1600 then fb gets the 1600 number, not your real number of 2400. I would rather fb get nothing, but as far as data sharing and ad tracking goes, this seems fairly standard. The only surprising part of this story is that they managed to find a stupid pr person who gave a bad quote

junaru 3y ago
Not 'mostly' its pure clickbait. > only surprising part of this story is that they managed to find a stupid pr person who gave a bad quote They did not do anything wrong and they don't do what the article implies. The response is 100% correct and when confronted with 'what about this' they explained it like the non issue it is. Its HTTP GET parameters. Not for specific user but for filter range, that's it. The article is prime example why people don't trust the news.
- llm_nerd 3y ago
  It isn't clickbait at all. It's a serious issue. Your interactions with the site are visible through these third parties. The college crows that they're don't provide PII, but the whole point of tracking pixels is that those services already know precisely who you are. Facebook, Tiktok, et al have tracking pixels precisely because it allows them to farm more information to fill out the profile of a user. Only the technically ignorant or dystopian don't see a profound issue with this.
pavel_lishin 3y ago
> If you score a 2400 but search for colleges that accept 1600 But most people won't be doing that. For most people, it'll send their actual scores most of the time. Saying that "they don't send your actual score" is the kind of sophistry that's technically correct but also wildly inaccurate in actual cases.
- nerdponx 3y ago
  It's also ridiculous that we should be somehow OK with sending people's search queries to completely unaffiliated 3rd parties, especially search queries on personal topics like this. The argument that it's OK because it's not technically sending your actual score is so incredibly weaselly that I can only assume it's in bad faith.
  - hgsgm 3y ago
    Not just personal, but protected by special laws for children.
- googlryas 3y ago
  Are you sure? Maybe most people will search with aspirational scores
wouldbecouldbe 3y ago
There is absolutely no reason for a public org to send this data to FB or Tiktok. Even if in your opinion "it's just search". There are 2 reasons they are doing that, they actually think it's valuable data for tracking, analytics & finding similar profiles on sociale media; and that makes the concern valid. Or they just didn't think about it, and send over as much data as possible
- dgrin91 3y ago
  Its not a public org though. - its non-profit. I'm not a fan of sharing search data either, but I think its unfair to put extra shame on College Board.
  - wouldbecouldbe 3y ago
    If it's the org managing the student's GPA it's public since it's dealing with public information citizens are unable to opt out off, independent of it's legal entity.
    - dgrin91 3y ago
      That's now how public organizations are defined in the slightest.... You can complain that the way the world works is broken & should be fixed, but you can't redefine words to make your argument.

junaru 3y ago

Not 'mostly' its pure clickbait. > only surprising part of this story is that they managed to find a stupid pr person who gave a bad quote They did not do anything wrong and they don't do what the article implies. The response is 100% correct and when confronted with 'what about this' they explained it like the non issue it is. Its HTTP GET parameters. Not for specific user but for filter range, that's it. The article is prime example why people don't trust the news.

llm_nerd 3y ago
It isn't clickbait at all. It's a serious issue. Your interactions with the site are visible through these third parties. The college crows that they're don't provide PII, but the whole point of tracking pixels is that those services already know precisely who you are. Facebook, Tiktok, et al have tracking pixels precisely because it allows them to farm more information to fill out the profile of a user. Only the technically ignorant or dystopian don't see a profound issue with this.

pavel_lishin 3y ago

> If you score a 2400 but search for colleges that accept 1600 But most people won't be doing that. For most people, it'll send their actual scores most of the time. Saying that "they don't send your actual score" is the kind of sophistry that's technically correct but also wildly inaccurate in actual cases.

nerdponx 3y ago
It's also ridiculous that we should be somehow OK with sending people's search queries to completely unaffiliated 3rd parties, especially search queries on personal topics like this. The argument that it's OK because it's not technically sending your actual score is so incredibly weaselly that I can only assume it's in bad faith.
- hgsgm 3y ago
  Not just personal, but protected by special laws for children.
googlryas 3y ago
Are you sure? Maybe most people will search with aspirational scores

wouldbecouldbe 3y ago

There is absolutely no reason for a public org to send this data to FB or Tiktok. Even if in your opinion "it's just search". There are 2 reasons they are doing that, they actually think it's valuable data for tracking, analytics & finding similar profiles on sociale media; and that makes the concern valid. Or they just didn't think about it, and send over as much data as possible

dgrin91 3y ago
Its not a public org though. - its non-profit. I'm not a fan of sharing search data either, but I think its unfair to put extra shame on College Board.
- wouldbecouldbe 3y ago
  If it's the org managing the student's GPA it's public since it's dealing with public information citizens are unable to opt out off, independent of it's legal entity.
  - dgrin91 3y ago
    That's now how public organizations are defined in the slightest.... You can complain that the way the world works is broken & should be fixed, but you can't redefine words to make your argument.