Opinion: there's nothing we can do about tech giants stealing our data
17 replies, posted
Its something I hate to admit but live with, the fact that, time and time again, tech companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Google, Apple and Microsoft to name a few, had been using our data for their own benefit, and we rely so much on their services that we have to live with the fact that our data is somewhere in the web being used to an advantage.
For me, social media is something I can't really delete and have to live with. My work revolves around social media, and I keep in touch on events and old school friends with social media. I know some of you may had removed that, but I see my connections too important to be removed.
Its an ugly world, the fact that companies had been using our data on numerous occasions, for profit or for espionage and disinformation purposes, and we pretty much just go 'well fuck they're at it again'
Even speaking right now, even if all your life you've haven't had social media, but a online account, I'm sure somewhere out there, your information is being used against your will.
Its depressing, but its a fact I've to live with, and as a Consumer, I don't have alot of strength to fight against such big tech companies.
If the rule of law was applied, a majority of such companies would had closed down forcefully. And yet, they are still up and running.
big tech relies on the fact that if one reaches a certain critical mass they are privilaged with a different set of laws than what we play by.
If I laundered money I'd go to jail but deutch bank get caught laundering money seemingly every week and is still around.
I would disagree in "nothing can be done about it". While it's difficult to have effective actions be taken, it can be done in increments via shifting governments to perform combative regulations upon such companies. As stated, it will take a good deal of calculated effort but it would come with similar interests of limiting corporations from holding absurd power overall.
pick up a rasberry pi or 2 and start self hosting stuff. you will be amazed how much you can cut out
I don't rightly care about advertisement data being taken and used. I don't like it, not at all, but it feels relatively harmless to the average person right now.
My main concern is when things start getting difficult, food and water shortages, war breaking out in Europe. Giving the tools that are currently available to a totalitarian authority would be absolutely disastrous. It's been a basis for many of my speculative arguments here on FP. Securing these things from future abuse should be an absolute priority.
This sort of defeatist attitude is exactly what tech giants want.
Amazon. That's an interesting one. I find it quite sad that a lot of people criticise Amazon's shitty practices, the refusal to pay tax, the horrific work conditions, but they find it within themselves to push all that aside because they really want to get that 1p book delivered to them the following morning. Amazon is the worst company in my eyes because people cut Facebook out of their lives when Facebook acts scummy, and they'll do the same with Apple, and I can imagine them doing it with Microsoft (there are still alternatives to Microsoft's more common services, I suppose. Kinda.) But Amazon? You've crossed a line, buster. Amazon sometimes unnerves me because I wonder if they've transcended to a point previously unseen by other companies, for the aforementioned reason, because people will just put up with their shit, simply because of the convenience provides. Amazon pays no tax and prioritises profit. A profit that you feed whilst also whining on Twitter about mega corporations that refuse to pay tax. Amazon has put a cap on criticism through convenience - people can loathe Bezos, but at the end of the day they want that fucking blender on their doorstep by 9am tomorrow, so they'll shove it aside. I know you're on about data, but I think the entire circumstances of Amazon need to be called into question.
My problem with your stance is that you've resigned to the 'convenience' argument, but also present it from the stand-point of 'I use it, therefore I have to accept it'. Uh? No? You may use Facebook but that doesn't mean you therefore have to sigh and say 'ugh, guess they're stealing my data. I'll never escape it'. A stance like that tends to push the focus towards the consumer, rather than the literal theft of data. You speak about an 'ugly world' yet you contribute to the defeatist attitude of said 'ugly world'. I'm not sure how it is where you live, but big corporations are not immune. My comparison is always with judicial review; the parties involved are typically between Average Joe v Public Authority. Public authorities aren't the same as Starbucks, sure, but they're still big organisations that presumably have the ability to vaporise you by looking at you too hard, except public authorities tend to lose these reviews...a lot. They're not immune from the law. To take a defeatist attitude of 'but we've...got to let them be scummy!' is what contributes to making them immune from the law. I understand why you think you can't do anything, because there are very few routes to take, but I'd still argue that defeatism solves zero problems yet breeds plenty more. Whilst you can't completely cut these companies out of your life, which is why they're so powerful in the first place, I'd say trim the fat wherever possible without completely throwing your standard of living out the wazoo. Perhaps you don't need that random piece of crap from Amazon that we both know you'll use once, but, oh well, you say, it's only costing me £5 with no delivery fee, and it might even arrive tomorrow!
It's like saying 'Ugh, sugar is bad for me, but I also need sugar. Le sigh, I guess I'll have to become obese'. How about you just use these companies to the necessary minimum that applies to you? It's not a case of 'brb gonna boycott Facebook' or 'I have to use Facebook 24/7'; there are many points in between the two. But also perhaps use Facebook like...barely. Perhaps ask your old friends 'hey can we not keep throwing money and data into Zucc's pockets, thank you'.
Part of the problem is that all of the data they collect is data you give them, either passively or actively.
It's impossible to avoid giving them that data without breaking fundamental parts of the internet.
I don't think boycotts are effective because of game theory. You depend too much on collective action you honestly can't depend on, and it won't happen because everyone else also depends on that same collective action, and in the case of stuff like Amazon the downside of boycotting them is too much to make up for the lack of making any sort of reliable change. This is the reason libertarianism is a bad ideology and why government regulation is needed. For big stuff like Amazon, boycotts don't work. Voting and being political active is much more important than boycotting.
Each one of these big corporations is a single targetted regulation away from going bankrupt. Never forget that and support & vote for people who are aligned with all of our interests. It's not going to be enough to have just one, two, ten people who want to make change.
Massive fines for those who steal data, and i mean massive, enough that its not worth the risk
Just don't put yourself on the internet. Always use a persona. Fill it with bullshit.
That's part of the reason I deleted my old Facepunch account, because I had posted a real life picture of myself.
If I had my own place I'd build a plex server and my own email server.
As comfortable as I am doing this, it's beyond unreasonable to expect your average person to. And beyond unreasonable to expect the people who can to set it up for their relatives and then provide lifelong free tech support alongside it.
I thought this was going to be a well-informed take on the issue from a reputable journal rather than a defeatist post by a Facepuncher.
The whole "it is hard so it is impossible" defeatist attitude really annoys me, I must admit.
i mean you can just use social media sparingly. Pretty much now I only have Facebook to get in touch with people who live far away. Otherwise I don’t post or anything. Instagram I only use for promoting my art, and I don’t use Twitter, Snapchat, etc...
It’s not that hard and there isn’t much “data” I put out that can harm me.
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