Cambridge Analytica.

[onalongsabbatical]

I'm going to be in London next week visiting the British Museum, among other thoroughly respectable activities. Headquarters of Cambridge Analytica are round the corner. AIBU to be sorely tempted to go and smear something nasty on their windows? Or at least go and give them a big, nasty stare - Paddington-bear-like?

[Toffeelatteplease]

The US legislator on the 4 website was talking about the legality of the official campaign providing data to seperate organisation releasing the negative campaigns...

But the altering of campaign material to target focused groups I'm not seeing anyone suggest to be illegal

Very willing to stand corrected, as I said I haven't found anything... links to the contrary appreciated

[Ylvamoon]

In not sure why everyone is so surprised. About 6-8months ago the BBC had a documentary about the Silicon Valley. They did talk about all the data harvesting and how it had been used in politics among other things. But it was all tech talk so probably not everyone cup of tea. Sadly the episodes are no longer available... www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0916ghq

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

legislators!

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

I think you'll find legisislators on both sides of the Atlantic disagreeing with you.

[Toffeelatteplease]

As far as i can find out micro targetting isn't any more illegal now than it was when you local mp went door to door primed with what to talk to you about by people who made it there job to care. I'd be very surprised if the terms under which most people signed up to Facebook were so lacking that they fail to find anything illegal done by Cambridge Analytica or facebook. Morally questionable yes, but when haven't people with power exploited loopholes.

(The one that looks legally on a sticky wicket is the one who built the survey and sold the data on)

[Bramble71]

I can fully understand why you'd want to do that! They're manipulating us and it's disgraceful. Then to see them laughing about it in that sting was infuriating. I thank the whistle blowers, journalists, Channel 4 News and everyone involved for letting us know what's been going on, very very much.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

So a company whose board of directors include Steve Bannon and massive donors to the republican party buy 50 million people's bits of data and illegally micro targeted advertising to subtly influence them to vote for Trump and this is no big deal?

The same company has used these and other illegal tactics to influence other elections around the world, destabilising democracy and this is no big deal either.

So what would constitute a big deal then?

[Toffeelatteplease]

I'm with mission. I really don't get why this is such a big surprise or deal.

Miss information writing under pseudonyms etc these are all things that have been happening in elections for 100s of years.

What has changed is the scale that this is being done on and that Russia got in on the act. But I don't believe for one second only one side has engaged in this kind of campaigning. Or that's is led people anywhere they weren't already predisposed to go. Amazon can put up goodness knows how many targeted ads but if I really don't want the item I'm not going to click. Why does anyone think the electioneering is any different? Because we don't really want to believe American voted in trump because thats what they wanted

As for scare mongering about stuff like medical insurance, the big things the stuff that really will Prevent your getting medical insurance you already have to tell them about yourself. It's the idea of full disclosure of risk. My son won't get travel insurance/or it will be hugely expensive not because I post about a hospital visit on Facebook, but because they have a right to ask about anything that affects the amount of risk they are taking on and I have a duty to tell them. My fitness pal might give an insurance company your weight but actually many insurance companies will ask about that themselves.

Anything you put on the Internet belongs to someone else in some way shape or form.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

I think it was the undercover interviews that finally got people paying attention.

[Peanutbuttercups21]

All this stuff was in the papers almost a year ago, but not not create as much traction then, why is that? Does anyone know?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Did anyone watch tonight's c4 news. They were talking about another company being ready to swallow all of CA and SCL data. On the board of directors? One of the Mercers.

[MissionItsPossible]

@PerkingFaintly

I was about to call out that article for being a blatant lie because but not an hour ago I checked my Uber settings and saw that it was set to collect location data only while using the app, but then noticed the date

[member]

I’m dubious anyone will be in the CA offices; they’re basically a shell company of SCL so Alexander Nix resigning as CEO doesn’t mean he no longer has a job, he’s still employed by SCL

[PerkingFaintly]

Google-owned company Deep Mind getting massive quantity of NHS data.

Revealed: Google AI has access to huge haul of NHS patient data
A data-sharing agreement obtained by New Scientist shows that Google DeepMind's collaboration with the NHS goes far beyond what it has publicly announced
www.newscientist.com/article/2086454-revealed-google-ai-has-access-to-huge-haul-of-nhs-patient-data/

[PerkingFaintly]

Yeah, if we're discussing other major data collectors and sellers, a few more to think about.

Uber has been tracking you after you get out of the taxi, finding out where you're actually going. Been doing this since 2015.

Uber's updated privacy policy reveals it can track your location even if you exit the app
uk.businessinsider.com/uber-soon-able-to-track-your-location-even-when-app-is-closed-and-gps-turned-off-2015-6?r=US&IR=T

Several changes to the app since, increasing the pressure to accept tracking and subsequently (IIUC) decreasing it.

Uber pulls U-turn on controversial tracking of users after trip has ended
www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/29/uber-u-turn-tracking-users-after-trip-ended-app-user-privacy-new-ceo

Not sure of current situation and may differ for Android and iPhone users – suggest any Uber users check what "permissions" they've given the app.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Eve, that is another related and important issue. Ditto with health data.

[Eve]

.. how about asking questions of the governments and councils about how they sell our data?

Park somewhere you shouldn't in a supermarket car park and get a fine - how do they know your address - DVLA sold the data.

Look up your address on 192.com - electoral roll data sold to private companies.

[user1466690252]

I also report every single instance of hate speech I see and nothing ever gets done about it, it's time laws were put into place and social media companies are held to account.

[frankchickens]

However awful their activities, it will not get us a chance for the British people to see sense via a second referendum.

Maybe if you pay them enough they will ensure we have as many referenda as we need to get the "right" answer.

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

Sometimes I report social media posts or profiles when they appear to me to be hate speech. I'm careful to only report very obvious cases that I am convinced violate community standards.

Every single report I've ever made to twitter has been removed. Every report I have ever made to facebook has failed. I do not use different standards for the two different platforms.

I find this fascinating.

[ohfortuna]

'the likes of Facebook deliver a very different narrative to marketers than they do the wider public. They downplay their significance when challenged by the media about, for example, their influence on the 2016 US election. They downplay their power to deal with online harassment or the spread of fake news. However, if you’ve got an advertising budget and want to know how Facebook can persuade your target consumer to buy your product, it’s a different story. Suddenly, Facebook is an all-knowing entity with unrivalled information; it can get almost anyone to do almost anything. While Facebook presents itself to the public as a social network, when addressing the advertising industry, it is very clear about the fact that it’s a surveillance system'

[ohfortuna]

'“this is the way that Facebook works”. The company’s business model is to collect, share and exploit as much user data as possible; all without informed consent'
www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/mar/20/facebook-is-it-time-we-all-deleted-our-accounts

[Basseting]

LakieLady

Darn right! I have NO photos of me or kids online at all. None. (odd family member I want to keep away from). The amount of grief I am given over this is amazing. School plaster stuff ALL OVER instagram, inc Names and year groups. Pisses me off. I can refuse (but they said it would be odd without a 'reason').

[ForalltheSaints]

However awful their activities, it will not get us a chance for the British people to see sense via a second referendum.

[MissionItsPossible]

You have to admit the boasting on camera about covertly filming corruption whilst covertly being filmed for corruption was glorious to behold I won’t gloat too much though, you have to use an email to sign in here...