Cambridge Analytica has most likely stolen information about every single person on Facebook.

[onecaliberal]

Does anyone else think congress should regulate our information? Do you think it’s pointless? It seems to me that all of these security breaches or giveaways signal a large problem that needs a solution.

[Stallion]

1. We Need Richard Hendrix of "Silicon Valley" to Hurry up with the De-centralized Internet

[Ilsa]

2. Does it help that we put nothing in our profile,

and have not even posted a picture of ourselves?

[onecaliberal]

4. Im not sure. Maybe. Maybe the basic info you used to sign up and verify its you.

[mythology]

6. Some but not really

Facebook tracks you through any site that has a Facebook like button for example. A Belgian committee found Facebook was tracking even non-users.

They get data from you based on far more than just being on the Facebook page itself.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

3. Again, it's not the "personal information" that's valuable. It's the information about how you act

when presented with different content and options. What do you like, what do you share, how do you react to things you see? It's the behavioral information that is worth a lot of money. Consumer brands have been doing this kind of stuff for years -- coupons, food labels for school money, that kind of thing. It's the same idea. It's now taking off hugely in the HR sphere -- employers love to know how employees are feeling and what they might do next.

So knowing that, how do you regulate information about your behavior? It's what much of our consumer economy is built on.

[onecaliberal]

5. Very good points. I just think its creepy.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

9. Yeah, that horse ran off and died a long, long time ago.

[mythology]

7. The scale of the information is much bigger now

It's easier to compile vast amounts of data for far more people and be more accurate than ever before.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

8. Right, that's what I'm saying.

The problem is many people tend to think this is a problem that can be solved by not using Facebook, or by using a fake name when signing up for Twitter, or whatever. If you're on a website, use company email, use cash only sometimes, use a mobile app, visit a website, any of it -- that generates data, and many, many organizations find that data very, very valuable.

[Volaris]

10. Well, if Facebook (not that I use it for much) or Google think

That what porn I watch or what online classes I take can be used to swing a national election, they're fuckin crazy lol.

Cause I would just LOVE to see the candidate that courts my vote for THAT shit.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. Oh, it's not always about elections. Most websites you visit are tracking what you do to build a

model that gets better and better about predicting what you might do next, and how best to monetize it. Some people find that creepy. Some people have a problem with it. Some don't. DU could provide some fantastic behavioral data for the Democratic Party -- if the admins are collecting it, and willing to sell.

[Volaris]

12. My response to that is the following:

Most of my available currency goes to the local community college so the porn I watch is free. That combined with a decent adblocker=
They can try to monetize that all they want, it won't fuckin work lol
(On edit) I would, however, pay extra for truly ad - free Internet on both my phone and home Internet connections.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

13. But it's not necessarily about the ads, or clicking on the ads.

It's about what you *do.* What you watch, what you watch *next,* what you watch again, what other websites you visit, what websites you visit while you're watching. Some people aren't bothered by behavioral information being tracked and commodified, because they believe they're smarter than the algorithms, or that it doesn't matter because it's not linked to them personally. But the more data there is in a set, the better the predictions and manipulations are. Whatever you do online, even if you're blocking and not clicking on ads, it's building a data set that someone, somewhere, wants and is willing to pay for.

[Volaris]

14. Does Does that make me entitled to a cut of what they get for selling it later?

Because if that were enough to cover my phone bill every month, I'd probably be down with them doing that.
I get free phone service, they get to sell my data. Otherwise, the Department of Whatever should run a Publicly-owned cellular service and I'll pay an extra 1% in taxes to pay for it.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

15. Now you're getting it.

[FarCenter]

16. Unlikely, since Facebook has 2.2 billion users, 6.75 times the population of the United States

They are alleged to have data on 50 million users collected in a targeted campaign.