Tag: cookies
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Google’s Quest to Kill the Cookie Is Creating a Privacy Shitshow
Written by Shoshana Wodinsky on Gizmodo.
“Digiday reported this week that some major players in the adtech industry have started drawing up plans to turn FLoC into something just as invasive as the cookies it’s supposed to quash. In some cases, this means companies amalgamating any data scraps they can get from Google with their own catalogs of user info, turning FLoC from an ”anonymous” identifier into just another piece of personal data for shady companies to compile. Others have begun pitching FLoC as a great tool for fingerprinting—an especially underhanded tracking technique that can keep pinpointing you no matter how many times you go incognito or flush your cache.
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[W]hat if that guy regularly visits websites centered around queer or trans topics? What if he’s trying to get access to food stamps online? This kind of web browsing—just like all web browsing—gets slurped into FLoC’s algorithm, potentially tipping off countless obscure adtech operators about a person’s sexuality or financial situation. And because the world of data sharing is still a (mostly) lawless wasteland in spite of lawmaker’s best intentions, there’s not much stopping a DSP from passing off that data to the highest bidder.”
Read ‘Google’s Quest to Kill the Cookie Is Creating a Privacy Shitshow’ on the Gizmodo site.
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noyb aims to end “cookie banner terror” and issues more than 500 GDPR complaints
Written by noyb on noyb.
Missed this a couple of weeks ago, and it could make a huge difference to our browsing experiences (and compel sites to do better!)
Note: the misuse and overuse of “crazy” is unfortunate in the linked site. Self Defined dictionary recommends more appropriate, and less ableist, alternative words.
“Today, noyb.eu sent over 500 draft complaints to companies who use unlawful cookie banners - making it the largest wave of complaints since the GDPR came into force.
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The GDPR was meant to ensure that users have full control over their data, but being online has become a frustrating experience for people all over Europe. Annoying cookie banners appear at every corner of the web, often making it extremely complicated to click anything but the “accept” button. Companies use so-called “dark patterns” to get more than 90% of users to “agree” when industry statistics show that only 3% of users actually want to agree.
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Many internet users mistake this annoying situation as a direct outcome of the GDPR, when in fact companies misuse designs in violation of the law. The GDPR demands a simple “yes” or “no”, as reasonable people would expect, but companies often have the power over the design and narrative when implementing the GDPR.”
Tagged with: cookies, cookie banners, GDPR.
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Chrome is ditching third-party cookies because Google wants your data all to itself
Written by Maya Shwayder on Digital Trends.
“They’re not really changing underlying tactics [of how they track us], they’re just channeling it all through Google,” [Elizabeth] Renieris told Digital Trends.
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“At least we knew how cookies worked. Instead, Google will shore up its surveillance power with even less oversight and accountability, black-boxed behind its proprietary technology. Not good news at all.”[— Christopher Chan]
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This means Google will now have full functional, filled out profiles on every single movement and purchase that every one of its billions of users makes across the internet.
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Apple moves to thwart Facebook tracking
Written by Jack Morse on Mashable.
“Notably, these protections won’t do privacy-conscious consumers any good while they’re logged into Facebook, but it will help to protect them from the social network’s ever-expanding grasp while they’re logged out.”
Read ‘Apple moves to thwart Facebook tracking’ on the Mashable site.