Google Has Secret Webpages That Feed Your Personal Data To Advertisers, Report Says (cnet.com) 43
New evidence submitted for an investigation into Google's collection of personal data in the European Union reportedly accuses the search giant of stealthy sending your personal user data to advertisers. The company allegedly relays this information to advertisers using hidden webpages, allowing it to circumvent EU privacy regulations. From a report: The evidence was submitted to Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the main watchdog over the company in the European Union, by Johnny Ryan, chief policy officer for privacy-focused browser maker Brave, according to a Financial Times report Wednesday. Ryan reportedly said he discovered that Google used a tracker containing web browsing information, location and other data and sent it to ad companies via webpages that "showed no content," according to FT. This could allow companies buying ads to match a user's Google profile and web activity to profiles from other companies, which is against Google's own ad buying rules, according to the FT. In response, Google said Wednesday it doesn't serve "personalized ads or send bid requests to bidders without user consent."
Google (Score:5, Insightful)
"$crew it, we evil now".
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"$$$$$ $$, $$ $$$$ $$$"
There, FTFY
/quote
-Junk filter bypass using
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Stage 5... gone are the days of
Dont be evil until we get bigger
Dont get caught being evil
Dont be evil all the time
Dont be too evil
Re:Google (Score:4, Insightful)
Stage 5... gone are the days of
Dont be evil until we get bigger
Dont get caught being evil
Dont be evil all the time
Dont be too evil
Google should just get the next steps out of the way and build their new headquarters inside a volcano shaped like a giant skull.
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Yeah but... secret web pages? That's like, cool evil!
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Not just advertisers (Score:5, Insightful)
Once advertisers have made profiles about you, those same profiles will trickle down to databrokers, and from there to software products for insurers, HR, border guards, and so forth.
The last time 'free stuff' on the internet as payed for by advertising alone was in 2013. Right now it's funded by anyone who wants to manage you as a risk.
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Okay.
I'm really not seeing the big deal.
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That's because you have no data worth collecting, junior. When you grow up and get a job and start a family and generate financial records, real estate records, travel records, medical records, insurance records, develop a business and/or create/invent things, you might feel differently. The reason you don't understand or care now is because all you do is sponge off of your parents and use social media, watch videos and play games.
Re:Not just advertisers (Score:5, Interesting)
You are denied life insurance because you googled about skydiving.
Your employer purchases data from a databroker for advertising purposes and someone in HR decides to find out what Employees are doing on their home computer. They are able to match some of the data to you and find your are researching other employers.
I could go on...the list is quite long.
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It's still advertising though. All the money they're making is 100% from advertising, or selling data to advertisers, advertising brokers, or advertising services. They're not making any money that is not related to advertising in some way.
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"The last time 'free stuff' on the internet as payed for by advertising alone was in 2013. Right now it's funded by anyone who wants to manage you as a risk."
I hope some of these assholes who are 'managing' us end up on the wrong side of their bullshit, and find themselves guarding their asses against Bubba.
I almost want to SWAT their asses, really I do.
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Ok, what happened in 2013? Yahoo buying Tumblr? The original Silk Road getting shut down? Windows 8 released?
No way! (Score:4, Funny)
Google sells personal information to advertisers?!
Holy crap. What do you mean, "This is their whole business plan"?
You mean they've been doing this THE WHOLE TIME!
Re:No way! (Score:5, Insightful)
Many if not most people have assumed that Google has jealously guarded that data for their own purposes, which include selling access to it without selling it — over and over again.
It was a not unreasonable assumption, because the credit card companies had done it. They gathered enormous volumes of customer data, and they would effectively make it available without selling it by working with third parties to perform mass mailings. So you'd ask them for x addresses of people with a, b, and maybe c (or not-c, or whatever) characteristics, and their mailer would ship out x mailers that you provided for y percent over the USPS bulk rate. Anyone who responded to your ad campaign, you'd know fit the description that you asked them for, so there was obviously data leakage. But return rates on mailers are usually very small, so the rate of leakage is very slow. I'm sure someone could do the math here to figure out how many mailings you have to do before you get useful results, but it sounds boring. I presume they're still doing this. They still know a lot about people.
I am not shocked if Google has been deliberately making it easy for advertisers to collect some data about you, since that sounds profitable. I am surprised if they make it easy for them to learn all that Google is learning about you, because that data is valuable, and selling access to it is valuable.
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Many if not most people have assumed that Google has jealously guarded that data for their own purposes, which include selling access to it without selling it â" over and over again.
Given that the "evidence" is entirely browser cookies set for the domain doubleclick.net, you can remain safe in your assumptions.
What surprises me more is just how many people right here on slashdot have never once yet in their lives seen or heard of the doubleclick domain name, or ever noticed before it sets cookies, or that the majority of websites with advertising include that domain.
Shocked posters and those that mod them up are already nearing a hundred :/
Another term for that (Score:3)
...location and other data and sent it to ad companies via webpages that "showed no content," according to FT.
You mean, like a REST API?
Since they didn't mention it in that link (Score:3)
the url used is pagead2.googlesyndication.com, which probably already blocked in whatever ad blocker you use, or dare I say HOSTS file.
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It's only a secret if... (Score:5, Informative)
It's only a secret if you don't have a clue how the internet works. Everyone else calls this Google Analytics, and those RPCs / APIs are the way you understand where your traffic is coming from. It's easier to use a free service from Google and let them crunch the data than it is to build a comparably good system. Everyone that uses Google services - even just people searching - benefits from the analytics.
Honestly, the number of times we get Slashdot headings when someone who doesn't have a clue how things work suddenly has a panic attack is depressing. The real headline is: Government Researcher cries foul after learning that Google analyzes traffic. Calls it "secret" links to "hidden webpages".
I thought this was supposed to be "News for nerds."
Um (Score:4, Interesting)
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"The evidence was submitted to Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the main watchdog over the company in the European Union, by Johnny Ryan, chief policy officer for privacy-focused browser maker Brave, according to a Financial Times report Wednesday. Ryan reportedly said he discovered that Google used a tracker containing web browsing information, locat
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This is how 3/4 of advertising on websites work. Not all of it is visual. This is obviously to stop Google. Once the advertising and marketing is more and more regulated EU will be able to prop up its own companies to get part of the pie. This is not about protecting peoples data this is about money.
Are you sure it isn't about vaccinations?
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Your claim is meaningless if you don't substantiate it. You should also probably suggest an idea for how to remedy your perceived issue.
it's JSON (Score:2)
These "web pages" are JSON files. Here's an example:
https://brave.com/wp-content/u... [brave.com]
They probably used the word "web pages" to help the wider public understand.
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"in" before Donald Trump demands the FBI arrest Jason.
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Friday the Thirteenth is coming up... Trump vs Jason!
Without user consent... (Score:2)
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If we don't click the boxes, we basically have no internet. I'm calling this extortion.
No, no!
This is *leveraged access* which is totally different! /s
Strat
Google is in a huge majority of web pages (Score:3)
Products (Score:2)
If you aren't paying for the product you are the product.
I've been saying this for years and nothing has changed. When will people learn?
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If you aren't paying for the product you are the product.
I've been saying this for years and nothing has changed. When will people learn?
Even if you are paying, you're still the product. Look at Apple for example!
Companies are getting away with this because there is neither legislation prohibiting it in most places nor is there enough consumers turning away from tech giants for practicing these abuses. Neither the invisible hand nor government is stemming the tide.
Google: First don't be Caught (Score:2)
Hey, what's a $130 million fine per user for breaking the law?
Privacy (Score:2)
The WHOLE company relies on users having no privacy, having no control over their data. The will wilfully invade the privacy of children, slurp up as much person information as they can, break privacy laws, etc.
Google is now evil.
Why focus on Google? (Score:2)
That's not even bad compared with the majority of web sites out there. Some news sites have upward
I think i found some of these websites (Score:2)
google.com,youtube.com,gmail.com