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by meowface 4235 days ago
I also think it's the most likely explanation.

It is not advantageous for Google's executives to collaborate in the tracking of US citizens; it adds a lot more work and it makes for absolutely awful PR. I'd also like to think that they possess some moral compass (even if it's a bit slanted) which lets them understand the difference between wide scale "anonymized" tracking for the purpose of advertising and giving all that data to a bunch of humans to scrutinize and judge for the purpose of spying.
1 comments
whyever 4234 days ago
It only makes for awful PR if the public knows about it.

What do you mean by anonymized tracking? Isn't building a profile on every user necessary for targeted advertising?

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meowface 4234 days ago
>What do you mean by anonymized tracking? Isn't building a profile on every user necessary for targeted advertising?

Yes. Anonymized wasn't the right word, perhaps "behind the curtains"? Google employees aren't actually making, looking at, or (not 100% sure of this last one) "splitting" and filtering the data to learn things about you. The process, beginning to end, is automated. This is in stark contrast to the NSA, where when they get a "hit" they will carefully and personally inspect you, your interests, and your activities.

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