Just came up with my father again.
He blames me that mother forgot her phone’s and Google password because I recommended against it being a word.
I mentioned encryption, “not necessary unless you’re doing something illegal”.
When mentioning lack of privacy with targeted advertisements, he said that he actually really likes them, because he bought a couple of things he wanted for years.
I don’t really have good arguments.
Gotta also point out, if they were things he ‘wanted for years,’ he already knew about them, knew he wanted them, and would have bought them. The ads were of no value in that situation.
But the big thing I have to question in this is, does this person have anyone they care about? It’s not all about them. Do they want those they love to be tracked and manipulated based on the data? Would they be comfortable with a system that tracked their daughter’s menstrual cycle based on the data they collected? If so, would they still be okay with it if the companies used that data to push unhealthy options on her when she’s being hit with PMT and feels like shit? What if the ad space was bought by a group who wanted to push her into a religion? Or an abortion? Or a political position they disagree with?
And let’s say they don’t have any problem with the people who they know have access to it now. Do they think the people who have it now will be unwilling to sell it? Is there someone out there they wouldn’t be comfortable with having access to their data? Because basically anyone can buy info from a data broker. Would they like it if their porn history was shared with potential employers? Or their health history? Even if they don’t put in anything they aren’t comfortable sharing, do they think no one else might put in info they don’t want shared? What about just plain misinformation? Do they want the data on them to be available to employers after someone with a grudge has had a chance to order BDSM gear in their name and create a profile for them on a fetish site or twenty? How about someone with no grudge, just who taps into his wifi because he hasn’t updated his security firmware in a bit? And all that info would be delivered to anyone who asks and is willing to pay <$20. He’ll never be told, ‘you didn’t get the job/loan/invite because of what we found on you.’ It’ll just be a silent wall between them and the other things they want, just because they liked that one time the company, which didn’t actually care what he wants, convinced him to buy something he would have bought anyway and spent the rest of the time selling access to him and his information, benefitting him not at all.