DailyPost 688
GOOGLED FOR LIFE!
There was a time when storing documents for eternity was one of the toughest jobs one could have imagine of. Today it is the other way, leave the self created data, every single movement is under the prying eyes of the IT Giants. Permanence of data is the done thing & exploiting it to the nth level of monetization their standard operating procedure. Rest is all for public consumption & for lip service to privacy & data ownership; which is supposedly with the user. The more you know about these companies, the more you detest them & get amazed as to how the world allowed it to happen.
The precision of data collection is mind boggling & so is it’s usage. Just opening the Maps app, Google stores a snap shot of where you are. Its getting perfected with every passing day. Data is their second skin. Location based tracking is the money spinner. The revenue in this segment rose by 20% last year to $95.4 billion. Ad revenue has to increase what come may; targeting ads to specific locations, certainly makes great business sense. For example, targeting to reach narrower audience, say in the vicinity of one mile of the particular landmark / shopping arena, will fetch higher ad rates.
What leaves one completely bewildered is the creation of a “Digital Mesh” in which the user is guaranteed to get trapped, however much he tries to steer clear of the “Digital Trap”. The privacy settings are not publicized, if you handle one privacy setting, another gaping hole would be left for the data, “By Default.” With the location history off, Google could trace complete whereabouts of Princeton postdoctoral researcher Gunes Acar. The blame is put on leaving Web & App activity being on, as if that is run by some other agency. This is a Deceit by Design. If you plug this loophole, they would still be collecting the data. They control the ecosystem, as you touch any key, you fall in their lap.
These companies seem to completely unfazed by Facebook saga, Snowden leaks and the battle cry for privacy the world over. Techlash is fine. Google has been at the receiving end of German Courts and are also in for a EU / GDPR battle. A business risk they are ready to take.
DATA SANS PRIVACY CONTROLS IS A RISK TO HUMANITY.
Sanjay Sahay