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| Courtesy TechnoLists |
The tech industry can't be trusted on privacy. That's the message we're getting these days – the one we see in headlines about new changes in Google and Facebook, and in ad campaigns like Microsoft's "Scroogled."
We experience it firsthand when targeted advertisements pop up in our news feed or our search results, and when our photos become the stuff of Web commercials. Browser cookies, webmail monitoring, and other intrusive practices may be perfectly defensible, but they don't poll well, and never have.
To illustrate the latest assault on privacy, the Wall Street Journal reported that Google "may display names, profile photos, ratings and reviews in ads as part of what is called shared endorsements" - without first asking for permission. "It's a commercial endorsement without consent and that is not permissible in most states in the U.S.," said Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
Technology companies haven't helped themselves to blunt criticism with their blasé attitudes on the subject. Scott McNealy, former CEO of Sun Microsystems, said in 1999 that, "you have zero privacy, get over it." Ten years later, Google's Eric Schmidt opined that, "if you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."
We expect the companies that control our data to protect it. That's a crazy expectation; a naïve one. It's widely known that they're selling this personal information, and that the data trade drives revenue for many of today's largest tech firms, and yet the public still operates under the quaint notion that these businesses are – or should be – trustworthy.
Unfortunately, many tech companies have painted themselves into a corner on privacy. An obsession with 'free' has left them nowhere to turn but advertising, and an addiction to data has driven them toward scale at all costs.
The industry has become massively centralized, with information migrating toward data centers and "stack" providers like Google, and away from individuals. You don't get privacy from such a system. What you do get is a sudden rush of businesses, criminals, and governments, all looking to tap into this wonderful conglomeration of information – one way or another.
Privacy is a problem, and the problem isn't going away. Thus far, the industry has managed to keep regulators at arm's length. But, with the National Security Agency hitting headlines with its top secret PRISM system collecting data secretly from the likes of Google, Apple, Verizon, Facebook and a variety of other online locations, that may no longer be possible. The dangers have become more immediate, they've acquired the flavor of national security, and we're hearing political rumblings around the world. If the tech industry can't provide a solution, it runs the risk of having one imposed. Either way, denial may no longer be an option.
Protecting yourself from the latest privacy attacks from Google and Facebook - with this week's change that affects millions of users who tried to make themselves a bit harder to find, requires vigilance.
Among many tech tips to navigate the byzantine privacy controls, Forbes provides a very useful resource: A Guide To Fixing The Latest Privacy Attacks From Facebook And Google.
Source:
1. USA Today, "On privacy, it's Facebook and Google versus small tech,"
2. The Wall Street Journal, "Google's New Ad Star: You," Rolfe Winker, October 12, 2013
