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by buttersbrian 1970 days ago
> How often do consumers even get asked?

Purely anecdotal that I am drawing from -- I've had this discussion with quite a few non-tech folks over the last few years privacy/tracking has hit the zeitgeist.

Many dismissively state something like, "I know. Don't care. Means stuffs free right?", or "I'm not doing anything wrong, I don't care".

> That is like trying to identify a suspect using a smiley face. If they track you it isn't anonymous

By that I mean regulations around what they track, identifiable data, not being able to explicitly say User2021 === Josefx on the system. I think this is why Google is going with the 'cohorts' in their FloC approach.

> Why do we need targeted ads?

Good question. "Need", probably not. But if I am on facebook, and ads are going to happen, do I want highest bidder ads like "Find Hot Milks in your Area Now" interspersed between my feed's family baby photos or an add for "World's best Uncle" T-Shirts? There's a happy medium somewhere.