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Google’s FLoC Is a Terrible Idea

(www.eff.org)
604 points wyldfire | 2 comments | 04 Mar 21 15:59 UTC | HN request time: 0.561s | source
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dleslie ◴[04 Mar 21 16:49 UTC] No.26344736[source]▶
This captures my feelings on the issue:

> That framing is based on a false premise that we have to choose between “old tracking” and “new tracking.” It’s not either-or. Instead of re-inventing the tracking wheel, we should imagine a better world without the myriad problems of targeted ads.

I don't want to be tracked. I never have wanted to be tracked. I shouldn't have to aggressively opt-out of tracking; it should be a service one must opt-in to receive. And it's not something we can trust industry to correct properly. This is precisely the role that privacy-protecting legislation should be undertaking.

Stop spying on us, please.

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sofixa ◴[04 Mar 21 17:39 UTC] No.26345398[source]▶
Do you use Web Monetisation ( as in, pay)? If you don't, and don't want to be tracked for ads, how do you propose things work?
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reaperducer ◴[04 Mar 21 19:19 UTC] No.26346865[source]▶
don't want to be tracked for ads, how do you propose things work?

The way they've worked for the last 400 years. The ads are tailored to the content, not the individual reader.

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1. minsc__and__boo ◴[05 Mar 21 00:33 UTC] No.26350698[source]▶
Car dealerships send direct mail post cards to you if you've bought from them before. Seems like individual retargeting to me.

If you've every made the buying decisions for an organization, you've been targeted individually before. Through digital economies of scale, it's less expensive to do with consumers now and allows for publishers to get paid to generate content at the same time.

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2. winkeltripel ◴[05 Mar 21 03:08 UTC] No.26352084[source]▶
> If you've every made the buying decisions for an organization, you've been targeted individually before.

Mellanox seems to think I'll drop 50k on NICs again, and I need to be reminded that last time I bought from them. It's been 11 years since.