3 ms·

The difference is that when Google screws you over, you see...advertisements, maybe embarrassing ones, and maybe your personal data is given to some other compa

The difference is that when Google screws you over, you see...advertisements, maybe embarrassing ones, and maybe your personal data is given to some other company. When your government screws you over you get a hand in your rectum when you try to fly, or thrown in a prison cell, or have your home invaded by a team of soldiers. Which scares you more?

selmnoo 13y ago
Why must you compare, and get in a game of "but they're worse than the other"? Both are bad. That said, I think the threat of civil liberties being taken away by companies like Facebook and Google is very understated and very underestimated. And if I can give you a piece of my mind for a moment here, I am actually fine with someone sticking a hand in my rectum in isolated instances. I think I would actually be more bothered when Facebook decides to sell my private info to credit card companies and insurance companies and I end up paying more for insurance or whatever because of this.
- aptwebapps 13y ago
  > Why must you compare, and get in a game of "but they're worse than the other"? Because betterunix was disagreeing with rayiner, who made the original comparison.
babesh 13y ago
How about medical information from your doctor or legal information from your doctor or financial information from your bank? Google also can compile information about the sender or receiver of an email even if they are not on gmail. Can they retarget ads based on that information?
- selmnoo 13y ago
  They basically already do on loose terms. Do this experiment: make a sock Facebook account, communicate dozens of messages with keywords like "fat", "weight", "exercise", "weight loss", include similar keywords in your likes. Then sit back and watch... you'll be targeted with weight loss pills and all that. But here's the kicker though... the weight loss pills they are advertising are almost always bad. They're scam businesses. The pills they're selling will almost certainly adversely affect your health. But they're going to penetrate the psyche of a person who's having weight issues, they know how to advertise their pills to them. People are going to buy those pills. And yes, when the floodgates that are guarding medical information open up, it's going to be a mess. And it's going to have deleterious effects on our society.

selmnoo 13y ago

Why must you compare, and get in a game of "but they're worse than the other"? Both are bad. That said, I think the threat of civil liberties being taken away by companies like Facebook and Google is very understated and very underestimated. And if I can give you a piece of my mind for a moment here, I am actually fine with someone sticking a hand in my rectum in isolated instances. I think I would actually be more bothered when Facebook decides to sell my private info to credit card companies and insurance companies and I end up paying more for insurance or whatever because of this.

aptwebapps 13y ago
> Why must you compare, and get in a game of "but they're worse than the other"? Because betterunix was disagreeing with rayiner, who made the original comparison.

babesh 13y ago

How about medical information from your doctor or legal information from your doctor or financial information from your bank? Google also can compile information about the sender or receiver of an email even if they are not on gmail. Can they retarget ads based on that information?

selmnoo 13y ago
They basically already do on loose terms. Do this experiment: make a sock Facebook account, communicate dozens of messages with keywords like "fat", "weight", "exercise", "weight loss", include similar keywords in your likes. Then sit back and watch... you'll be targeted with weight loss pills and all that. But here's the kicker though... the weight loss pills they are advertising are almost always bad. They're scam businesses. The pills they're selling will almost certainly adversely affect your health. But they're going to penetrate the psyche of a person who's having weight issues, they know how to advertise their pills to them. People are going to buy those pills. And yes, when the floodgates that are guarding medical information open up, it's going to be a mess. And it's going to have deleterious effects on our society.