[username223]

> comparing it to print advertising is disingenuous at best.

Right. First, print advertising could only target the entire subscriber base. Second, they had a limited amount of data on you based on voluntary surveys and census tracts, not a list of every single thing you read, and where you are every minute of every day. Finally, print publications actually cared about reuse/misuse of their address lists. The list they sold you would include some addresses they controlled, so if you resold or reused it, they would catch you.

There are ways to deliver effective ads with a whole lot less surveillance.

[dbt00]

Also credit card purchase records.