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As much as I love Mozilla for precisely this reason, it cannot go without remark that the majority of their funding continues to come from the metaphorical priv

As much as I love Mozilla for precisely this reason, it cannot go without remark that the majority of their funding continues to come from the metaphorical privacy antichrist, Google. This could change as early as 2014 when the search contract is due for renewal. Can anyone comment on Mozilla's future revenue plans? Are they aiming to license Firefox OS?

stanleydrew 14y ago
Do you really believe that Google is the "metaphorical privacy antichrist" and if so, can I ask what exactly makes you feel that way?
- krenoten 14y ago
  People tell Google incredibly intimate things on an hourly basis, many of which Google then sells to pesterers or gives to three letter agencies. People may catch on eventually, but most simply don't think they need to care what the consequences may be.
  - stanleydrew 14y ago
    What do you mean by this: "sells to pesterers"? I understand that Google has an algorithm that displays ads based on what I search for, and that in order to charge the advertiser Google will track when I click on an ad. I don't consider that "selling" my information. Is that what you are talking about, or is there some other product that I'm not aware of that Google uses to collect and actually sell data like, say, Rapleaf (https://www.rapleaf.com/ https://www.rapleaf.com/) does?
  - DannyBee 14y ago
    Google doesn't sell anything.
    - vor_ 14y ago
      Google sells users to its customers: advertisers.
      - stanleydrew 14y ago
        No it doesn't. It sells ad space next to content on valuable internet properties. Google Search and YouTube being the two big ones. Please everyone, stop sensationalizing this. Google doesn't "sell users" or "sell your privacy" any more than, e.g., NBC, which sells ads alongside its content.
        vor_ 14y ago
        Yes, it does; of course it does. Google's reason for getting everyone connected through its services is to gain an audience for targeted advertising. It's certainly not "sensationalizing" to point that out. It needs users for its advertisers, and it sells access to those users. NBC does too--they are a business that depends on readership/viewership because they make their money from advertising. That means that their business is to attract as many consumers of their content as they can so that their advertisers can reach them. I'm surprised that this would even be considered a controversial point to make. Perhaps you don't like the wording: calling you their "product" and the advertisers their "customers". But there's not meant to be a personal element to it. It's simply an explanation of what their business model is.
        stanleydrew 14y ago
        I think you're being a bit disingenuous. I'm pretty sure I understand Google's business model. And you should know that I understand it based on my other comments in this thread. What I don't think is particularly helpful is the characterization of that business model as "selling users" or "selling privacy", which are phrasings that you and other commenters here have used. Those phrasings are designed to spread FUD about Google. I don't think people usually say things like "NBC is selling it's users/viewers to advertisers." The normal thing to say is "NBC sells advertisement slots during its programs."
- WayneDB 14y ago
  I hold the same opinion so I can answer for myself - Mainly I judge them by their actions and it seems obvious to me that Google is working against the anonymous Internet. They seem to want to tag and track everyone with a real name and they force you sign in to save important settings on many of their services. They just seem to want all of your data on their servers all of the time. I don't like it and I actively work against it.
  - stanleydrew 14y ago
    I can see why you would think that Google is working against anonymous use of Google services. But to say that they are working against the "anonymous internet" is a stretch, unless you believe Google to make up the majority of the internet. Honest question: what actions have they taken that make you believe they are working against the anonymous internet, outside of Google services?
    - throwaway125 14y ago
      Speaking for myself here, but many of the reasons Google is so bad for privacy isn't necessarily because of something Google did themselves. There are very few websites on the internet that don't have some form of Google tracking device on them (analytics, ad-sense, jquery loaded from a Google domain, etc). Any one company having access to such a big database of information about pretty much everyone that has ever used a web browser should never happen, but it happens at Google.
    - WayneDB 14y ago
      It's not really a stretch because they don't want you to use the Internet without using Google. That's why they prompt you to immediately sign into Google with their browser and their mobile OS. Narrowing the argument to only what they do outside of their own properties is missing the point in my opinion because their properties are so vast. Like I said, I can really only judge them by what I see - but here is my full disclosure - I honestly believe that in all probability...Google is working very closely with at least one despicable intelligence agency (most likely the NSA). I can't prove it, but if I could those agencies just wouldn't be worth their salt. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Far from it.
- j_s 14y ago
  Illustrated (comic): http://mattputtz.com/google-is-big-brother/ http://mattputtz.com/google-is-big-brother/

stanleydrew 14y ago

Do you really believe that Google is the "metaphorical privacy antichrist" and if so, can I ask what exactly makes you feel that way?

krenoten 14y ago
People tell Google incredibly intimate things on an hourly basis, many of which Google then sells to pesterers or gives to three letter agencies. People may catch on eventually, but most simply don't think they need to care what the consequences may be.
- stanleydrew 14y ago
  What do you mean by this: "sells to pesterers"? I understand that Google has an algorithm that displays ads based on what I search for, and that in order to charge the advertiser Google will track when I click on an ad. I don't consider that "selling" my information. Is that what you are talking about, or is there some other product that I'm not aware of that Google uses to collect and actually sell data like, say, Rapleaf (https://www.rapleaf.com/ https://www.rapleaf.com/) does?
- DannyBee 14y ago
  Google doesn't sell anything.
  - vor_ 14y ago
    Google sells users to its customers: advertisers.
    - stanleydrew 14y ago
      No it doesn't. It sells ad space next to content on valuable internet properties. Google Search and YouTube being the two big ones. Please everyone, stop sensationalizing this. Google doesn't "sell users" or "sell your privacy" any more than, e.g., NBC, which sells ads alongside its content.
      - vor_ 14y ago
        Yes, it does; of course it does. Google's reason for getting everyone connected through its services is to gain an audience for targeted advertising. It's certainly not "sensationalizing" to point that out. It needs users for its advertisers, and it sells access to those users. NBC does too--they are a business that depends on readership/viewership because they make their money from advertising. That means that their business is to attract as many consumers of their content as they can so that their advertisers can reach them. I'm surprised that this would even be considered a controversial point to make. Perhaps you don't like the wording: calling you their "product" and the advertisers their "customers". But there's not meant to be a personal element to it. It's simply an explanation of what their business model is.
        stanleydrew 14y ago
        I think you're being a bit disingenuous. I'm pretty sure I understand Google's business model. And you should know that I understand it based on my other comments in this thread. What I don't think is particularly helpful is the characterization of that business model as "selling users" or "selling privacy", which are phrasings that you and other commenters here have used. Those phrasings are designed to spread FUD about Google. I don't think people usually say things like "NBC is selling it's users/viewers to advertisers." The normal thing to say is "NBC sells advertisement slots during its programs."
WayneDB 14y ago
I hold the same opinion so I can answer for myself - Mainly I judge them by their actions and it seems obvious to me that Google is working against the anonymous Internet. They seem to want to tag and track everyone with a real name and they force you sign in to save important settings on many of their services. They just seem to want all of your data on their servers all of the time. I don't like it and I actively work against it.
- stanleydrew 14y ago
  I can see why you would think that Google is working against anonymous use of Google services. But to say that they are working against the "anonymous internet" is a stretch, unless you believe Google to make up the majority of the internet. Honest question: what actions have they taken that make you believe they are working against the anonymous internet, outside of Google services?
  - throwaway125 14y ago
    Speaking for myself here, but many of the reasons Google is so bad for privacy isn't necessarily because of something Google did themselves. There are very few websites on the internet that don't have some form of Google tracking device on them (analytics, ad-sense, jquery loaded from a Google domain, etc). Any one company having access to such a big database of information about pretty much everyone that has ever used a web browser should never happen, but it happens at Google.
  - WayneDB 14y ago
    It's not really a stretch because they don't want you to use the Internet without using Google. That's why they prompt you to immediately sign into Google with their browser and their mobile OS. Narrowing the argument to only what they do outside of their own properties is missing the point in my opinion because their properties are so vast. Like I said, I can really only judge them by what I see - but here is my full disclosure - I honestly believe that in all probability...Google is working very closely with at least one despicable intelligence agency (most likely the NSA). I can't prove it, but if I could those agencies just wouldn't be worth their salt. It's certainly not outside the realm of possibility. Far from it.
j_s 14y ago
Illustrated (comic): http://mattputtz.com/google-is-big-brother/ http://mattputtz.com/google-is-big-brother/