Submitted by DuckoPond t3_126xzcb in explainlikeimfive
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Throwaway08080909070 t1_jebjlbr wrote
I think the more interesting question is how this data has actually been used to harm you, if it has.
For decades now there have been endless warnings of an emerging "surveillance state" just a step away from 1984, but... where is the harm being done? Where are the disappearances, the discrimination based on it, the equivalent of the social credit scores?
It just seems to be used for law enforcement and advertising we can all block for free.
lt_Matthew t1_jebk9rv wrote
Not any more you can't. Only network based ad blockers work on Google now, and using a VPN is looking to be illegal.
[deleted] t1_jebim16 wrote
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explainlikeimfive-ModTeam t1_jecsddq wrote
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[deleted] t1_jebk43b wrote
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explainlikeimfive-ModTeam t1_jecsb8n wrote
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[deleted] t1_jebkq4l wrote
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explainlikeimfive-ModTeam t1_jecsaq5 wrote
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Emyrssentry t1_jebhodb wrote
Demographic data can be inferred from usage data. And if you're in a demographic that is currently being persecuted by certain lawmakers, that is a dangerous situation.
There was a time when Target outed a young woman as pregnant to her dad because of her shopping habits, Google would be able to know that just as much or more. For a current events example, someone searching for abortion access in a restricted state could be at risk of that data being used against them.
For a more direct situation, predatory advertisements would be able to pick out vulnerable people from the tracked data, and exclusively target them, like a payday loan agency only targeting those already deep in debt.