| In the first place, your repeated assertion that you are anonymous in the data is wrong. A combination of zip code, date of birth, and gender will uniquely identify 87% of the people in the country [1], and I assure you advertisers have far more detailed information than that. In some cases, they have your DNA. [2] Secondly, that information is used to influence you. Cambridge Analytica still proudly proclaims, on their home page, that they "[use] data to change audience behavior." Ads on Facebook are being used by different groups to inflame political tensions [3]. The tracking widgets used on nearly every site you visit now means that some company, somewhere, knows everything you're interested in. They are in the business of using that information against you, to their benefit, whether it's in crafting sensational stories with clickbait headlines to get more of your attention, or selling you products you don't need by preying on your insecurities, or just trading it for money to other companies who will use it in new and creative ways -- like CA, who specialize in tilting voting behavior. [4] Thirdly, you're counting on advertising firms having perfect security and never accidentally giving your information away to people who shouldn't have it. Advertising companies just don't have good history when it comes to data security [5] [6] [7]. People seem happy to ignore the ramifications of all of this, because it's not like they're feeling physical pain or discomfort or noticing any other immediate negative effect when more tracking data is collected or they see another ad. But this is a form of psychological warfare, and at least some of this stuff is designed to corrupt your thinking, to get more of your attention and change your opinions about things and convince you that it's all very harmless. We've strayed away from tracking data and into advertising, but they are two sides of the same coin. [1]: http://latanyasweeney.org/work/identifiability.html [2]: https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2015/09/07/ancestry-com-can-us... [3]: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-ads/majority-of-... [4]: http://money.cnn.com/2018/03/20/technology/what-is-cambridge... [5]: https://www.engadget.com/2016/01/08/you-say-advertising-i-sa... [6]: https://pagefair.com/blog/2015/halloween-security-breach/ [7]: https://entertainment.slashdot.org/story/16/10/09/208249/a-s... |
I did want to respond directly to one of your points that is dead wrong. With regard to this statement:
>Secondly, that information is used to influence you. Cambridge Analytica still proudly proclaims, on their home page, that they "[use] data to change audience behavior." Ads on Facebook are being used by different groups to inflame political tensions
There has been no scientific evidence that CA, the Russians, or anyone else was actually successful in their efforts to use Facebook to influence the election or "inflate political tensions". In fact, CA's own customers say that it didn't work [1]. This whole thing was a manufactured controversy.
[1] http://www.businessinsider.com/cambridge-analytica-facebook-...