Washington Post: “Targeted online ads are now literally following you home Marketers are using the same technology and data as online advertising companies to decide who gets what flier, postcard or envelope…As people become numb to targeted digital ads that follow them across social media and into their email inboxes, some high-tech marketers are turning… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
Switch From Your Internet Provider’s Email to Something Better
The New York Times: “When you signed up for internet access, you probably got an email address. That’s fine, but you can do better. Here’s how to move to a good one…Just remember that no matter what email service you use, your privacy is only as good as the email service your friends, family and… Continue Reading
Facebook privacy tool gives users more info on how they are tracked
USAToday: “It’s been way overdue. But Facebook has finally released a long-promised tool that could give you more control over how the social network traces your path across the web. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the global availability of this “Off-Facebook Activity” tool in a blog post Tuesday on Data Privacy Day. It’s part of an… Continue Reading
You Are Now Remotely Controlled – Privacy is not private
The New York Times Opinion By Shoshana Zuboff author of The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. …Privacy is not private, because the effectiveness of these and other private or public surveillance and control systems depends upon the pieces of ourselves that we give up — or that are secretly stolen from us. Our digital century was… Continue Reading
Who’s Watching Your Porch?
The New York Times – Ring offers a front-door view of a country where millions of Amazon customers use Amazon cameras to watch Amazon contractors deliver Amazon packages: “…The growth of easy-to-install home-surveillance equipment, and in particular doorbell cameras, has changed American life in ways obvious and subtle. Marketed in part as a solution to… Continue Reading
CMA lifts the lid on digital giants
“The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) interim report has found that: Last year, Google accounted for more than 90% of all revenues earned from search advertising in the UK, with revenues of around £6 billion In the same year, Facebook accounted for almost half of all display advertising revenues in the UK, reaching more… Continue Reading
Commentary – Google and Amazon make us worse people
CNET – “Let me show you a magic trick. Make a choice — any choice. You’re already online, so maybe you want to read the news, check your email, surf your newsfeed, buy some food or any other number of things. Now for the trick, I’m going to tell you the companies that facilitated whatever… Continue Reading
Google’s ads just look like search results
The Verge: “Last week, Google began rolling out a new look for its search results on desktop, which blurs the line between organic search results and the ads that sit above them. In what appears to be something of a purposeful dark pattern, the only thing differentiating ads and search results is a small black-and-white… Continue Reading
The browser wars are back but it’s different this time
The Verge – It’s about privacy, not marketshare: “…First: there are new browser technologies and limits coming that could radically change how ads work and could make it easier for you to protect your privacy no matter what browser you use. Since this is the web, it’ll take time, but everybody seems committed. Second: the… Continue Reading
Banning facial recognition – it is not enough to ensure privacy
The New York Times Opinion – We’re Banning Facial Recognition. We’re Missing the Point. The whole point of modern surveillance is to treat people differently, and facial recognition technologies are only a small part of that. “…These efforts are well intentioned, but facial recognition bans are the wrong way to fight against modern surveillance. Focusing… Continue Reading
It’s Time to Stop Making Excuses for Amazon’s Disposable Tech
IFixit: “Amazon doesn’t repair their own products for customers outside their return or warranty periods. The company doesn’t make parts available. Need a new battery for your old but still functional Kindle Paperwhite? That’s too bad, Amazon doesn’t sell them directly (though you can roll the dice on a number of third-party vendors). The same… Continue Reading
Google ends third-party cookies in ad-tracking
MyBroadBand: “Google is planning to “render obsolete” a key tool advertisers use to track people around the web, increasing user privacy but also disrupting the marketers and publishers who rely on the search giant’s ad products. Over the next two years the Alphabet Inc. unit intends to stop supporting third-party cookies in its Chrome browser,… Continue Reading
