3 ms·

Google does not sell individual's data to businesses. Where do you even get that notion?

deleted 2y ago
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pembrook 2y ago
Defacto, yes they do, that’s the entire value proposition of their advertising model — that they can target customers better than any other platform due to buying intent signals from search queries. When companies buy ads with Google they’re quite literally bidding for microtargeted user intent data.
- lotsofpulp 2y ago
  That is not “de facto” selling data about an individual to other businesses. No one can go to Google and buy information about a specific person.
  - pembrook 2y ago
    I think we’re just arguing semantics. No, you can’t buy user data on 1 specific person (then again, there’s many examples of people buying ads on a persons name to catch them googling themselves), but you can buy user data on small groups of people.
    - nox101 2y ago
      No you can't. It's not semantics. It's reality. You can't buy data on people or groups of people from google any more than you can buy data on people from NBC, ABC, CBS. From TV stations you can buy ads during specific programs. That's it. From Google you can buy ads. You can not buy data. Data is something you can do something with on your own, analyse it, etc. Google does not give you data.
      - pembrook 2y ago
        I don’t think you understand how Google ads work. Here’s a super common example: - I sell red bowling shoes - I pay Google for access to anyone searching for ‘red bowling shoes’ - Once they land on my site I know who came via the Google ad (via the URL params) - A certain percentage converts, and I get their personal info and payment info I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with that chain of events! It’s a win-win for both buyer and seller. However, to argue that no data was sold is disingenuous at best. Google is the monopoly broker of the intent data on every buyer in the world. Why should I let Google profit off of my thoughts/interests? Why shouldn’t I be making the money that the bowling shoe manufacturer paid to access my thoughts/interests?
        Kbelicius 2y ago
        > - I pay Google for access to anyone searching for ‘red bowling shoes’ You pay to show your website to people searching for red bowling shoes. > However, to argue that no data was sold is disingenuous at best. No user data has been sold.
        kelnos 2y ago
        I don't really see how you're coming to the conclusion that chain of events constitutes the sale of user data. Google has sold ad placement, not user data. When a TV station sells ad time to a company, and then someone sees the ad, comes into the store, and says "hey, I saw your TV ad while watching Law & Order", we don't say that the TV station has sold data to the merchant.
      - ineedasername 2y ago
        Google will let you target on the following. Especially by combining criteria you can narrow things down to very small specific groups of people. If a person in that campaign then clicms and enters a name and email I have a better profile on them as a person than many of their neighbors. Demographics: Target users based on age, gender, parental status, household income, and more Interests: Target people based on their interests, even if they're visiting pages about other topics In-market audiences: Target users who are actively looking for products or services similar to yours Custom intent audiences: Create and target audiences based on their search behavior and interests Remarketing lists: Reconnect with users who have previously interacted with your website or app Customer match: Use your first-party data to reach and re-engage with your customers Similar segments: Expand the reach of your best-performing audiences by targeting new users with similar characteristics Affinity audiences: Reach people based on a holistic picture of their lifestyles, passions, and habits Life events segments: Target users
    - robertlagrant 2y ago
      > there’s many examples of people buying ads on a persons name to catch them googling themselves What does this mean? What is the value of "catching" someone googling themselves?
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
  - maeil 2y ago
    They likely can, even if indirectly. [1] > I'm going by this document from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and a lawsuit brought against Google, signed by member of Congress, that alleged data brokers are "siphoning" off bid-stream data and reselling it . It makes the claim that U.S Dept of Homeland Security uses real-time bidding data for warrant-less phone tracking. > https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Mass-data-breach-of-Europe-and-US-data-1.pdf?utm_source=simpleanalytics.com https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Mass-data-bre... > https://www.tampabay.com/news/2021/05/07/google-selling-users-personal-data-despite-promise-federal-court-lawsuit-claims/ https://www.tampabay.com/news/2021/05/07/google-selling-user... [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41762264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41762264

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Defacto, yes they do, that’s the entire value proposition of their advertising model — that they can target customers better than any other platform due to buying intent signals from search queries. When companies buy ads with Google they’re quite literally bidding for microtargeted user intent data.

lotsofpulp 2y ago
That is not “de facto” selling data about an individual to other businesses. No one can go to Google and buy information about a specific person.
- pembrook 2y ago
  I think we’re just arguing semantics. No, you can’t buy user data on 1 specific person (then again, there’s many examples of people buying ads on a persons name to catch them googling themselves), but you can buy user data on small groups of people.
  - nox101 2y ago
    No you can't. It's not semantics. It's reality. You can't buy data on people or groups of people from google any more than you can buy data on people from NBC, ABC, CBS. From TV stations you can buy ads during specific programs. That's it. From Google you can buy ads. You can not buy data. Data is something you can do something with on your own, analyse it, etc. Google does not give you data.
    - pembrook 2y ago
      I don’t think you understand how Google ads work. Here’s a super common example: - I sell red bowling shoes - I pay Google for access to anyone searching for ‘red bowling shoes’ - Once they land on my site I know who came via the Google ad (via the URL params) - A certain percentage converts, and I get their personal info and payment info I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with that chain of events! It’s a win-win for both buyer and seller. However, to argue that no data was sold is disingenuous at best. Google is the monopoly broker of the intent data on every buyer in the world. Why should I let Google profit off of my thoughts/interests? Why shouldn’t I be making the money that the bowling shoe manufacturer paid to access my thoughts/interests?
      - Kbelicius 2y ago
        > - I pay Google for access to anyone searching for ‘red bowling shoes’ You pay to show your website to people searching for red bowling shoes. > However, to argue that no data was sold is disingenuous at best. No user data has been sold.
      - kelnos 2y ago
        I don't really see how you're coming to the conclusion that chain of events constitutes the sale of user data. Google has sold ad placement, not user data. When a TV station sells ad time to a company, and then someone sees the ad, comes into the store, and says "hey, I saw your TV ad while watching Law & Order", we don't say that the TV station has sold data to the merchant.
    - ineedasername 2y ago
      Google will let you target on the following. Especially by combining criteria you can narrow things down to very small specific groups of people. If a person in that campaign then clicms and enters a name and email I have a better profile on them as a person than many of their neighbors. Demographics: Target users based on age, gender, parental status, household income, and more Interests: Target people based on their interests, even if they're visiting pages about other topics In-market audiences: Target users who are actively looking for products or services similar to yours Custom intent audiences: Create and target audiences based on their search behavior and interests Remarketing lists: Reconnect with users who have previously interacted with your website or app Customer match: Use your first-party data to reach and re-engage with your customers Similar segments: Expand the reach of your best-performing audiences by targeting new users with similar characteristics Affinity audiences: Reach people based on a holistic picture of their lifestyles, passions, and habits Life events segments: Target users
  - robertlagrant 2y ago
    > there’s many examples of people buying ads on a persons name to catch them googling themselves What does this mean? What is the value of "catching" someone googling themselves?
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- maeil 2y ago
  They likely can, even if indirectly. [1] > I'm going by this document from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and a lawsuit brought against Google, signed by member of Congress, that alleged data brokers are "siphoning" off bid-stream data and reselling it . It makes the claim that U.S Dept of Homeland Security uses real-time bidding data for warrant-less phone tracking. > https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Mass-data-breach-of-Europe-and-US-data-1.pdf?utm_source=simpleanalytics.com https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Mass-data-bre... > https://www.tampabay.com/news/2021/05/07/google-selling-users-personal-data-despite-promise-federal-court-lawsuit-claims/ https://www.tampabay.com/news/2021/05/07/google-selling-user... [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41762264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41762264