Australia Sues Facebook Over Its Use of Onavo To Snoop (techcrunch.com) 28
Australia's Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is suing Facebook over its use, in 2016 and 2017, of the Onavo VPN app to spy on users for commercial purposes. From a report: The ACCC's case accuses Facebook of false, misleading or deceptive conduct toward thousands of Australian consumers, after it had promoted the Onavo Protect app -- saying it would keep users personal activity data private, protected and secret and not use it for any other purpose, when it was being used to gather data to help Facebook's business. "Through Onavo Protect, Facebook was collecting and using the very detailed and valuable personal activity data of thousands of Australian consumers for its own commercial purposes, which we believe is completely contrary to the promise of protection, secrecy and privacy that was central to Facebook's promotion of this app," said ACCC chair Rod Sims in a statement. "Consumers often use VPN services because they care about their online privacy, and that is what this Facebook product claimed to offer. In fact, Onavo Protect channelled significant volumes of their personal activity data straight back to Facebook."
Big tech is the greatest enemy in our lifetime (Score:2, Interesting)
Big tech needs to be torn down, they're more powerful than nations, they have better propaganda, they control the flow of almost all information to the masses. They give life to conspiracies and fear mongering that would make ww2 Germany envious of.
They control so many aspects of our lives, and all needed to get in return to allow them this power was minor conveniences and disposable trinkets.
Re: Big tech is the greatest enemy in our lifetime (Score:1)
They give life to conspiracies and fear mongering that would make ww2 Germany envious of.
So do anonymous cowards on slashdot.
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you must be an internet relic from back when slashdot was relevant too.
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Saying "they're more powerful than nations" is a significant overstatement, though there are areas where that is true.
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You still need to qualify it. Uganda has more firepower than Amazon does. Actually, so do some criminal gangs. Amazon delegates most of it's need for firepower to various governments (which is where your claim about influence comes in).
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A DINGO took my privacy mate. (Score:3, Funny)
I am in Venezuela and used Onavo... (Score:2)
... and recomended it, until its final demise.
I do not know about Australian people, but I'd rather be snooped up by Facebook* than be snooped AND censored by the authoritarian government of my country.
So, while Onavo may have been a curse for some, it was a blessing for many others.
JM2C, YMMV
* who know already a big deal about me, because I willingly told them
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You think Facebook data is out of reach of your government? Are you a retard?
Facebook, an USoAn company.
Me, a Venezuelan Citizen.
Relationtship between Vz Govt. and USoA govt. : Not very good
Possibility that Vz govt pressures FB to give my info and USoA govt looks the other way: close to 0
Possibility of Vz govt asking USoA govt to pressure FB to give my data and USoA govt say yes: Close to 0
By the time this changes, the data FB gathered from Onavo will not be relevant anymore.
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Also, a VPN + Virtual machine (to stop tying to Windows telemetry/ cross site tracking etc) may change a 'many spies' situation into a 'handful of spies' one to get a 'less bad' result. (ISP not tracking for ex)
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That's a valid, pragmatic outlook for it.
Also, a VPN + Virtual machine (to stop tying to Windows telemetry/ cross site tracking etc) may change a 'many spies' situation into a 'handful of spies' one to get a 'less bad' result. (ISP not tracking for ex)
thank, you do get it, and are non anon coward to boot.
I have TAILS updated and in working order on a VM, I fire it up every few months to practice, but so far, no need to use it, since I am not a PEP.
I fire up my VPN (nowadays ProtonVPN, before, Onavo) ONLY when I need to see some censored sites, or, when I need a modicum of privacy (public VPNs in airports and hotels come to mind). Since all the egrees points are flagged by content distributors, I don't even use the VPN for media consuption.
PS: I use a Mac
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It leaves out, however, the scenario
"Government buys data on populace from Facebook".
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It leaves out, however, the scenario
"Government buys data on populace from Facebook".
Since the Vz govt is under heavy sanctions from the USoA govt, facebook could get in a lot of trouble if it did any sort of bussiness with the Vz govt, more so, selling people's data to it. So no, the scenario is not left out.
I just tought I did not needed to make a nice drawing for it.
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So now you think that all governments get people's private info via official means? Now I KNOW you are a retard.
All it takes is for a Venezualan representative in the US to bribe/blackmail a facebook employee in the US and bingo-bango you're fucked.
think its far fetched? just look at what the Saudis are doing with Twitter.
No, I do not think this is far fetched. Yes, I know about the Saudis.
But you know what? Actually, there are more Venezuelan representatives/operatives in Switzerland than in the USoA. By your same logic, all it takes is a Venezuelan operative in switzerland to bribe/blackmail a ProtonVPN (my current VPN) employee and bingo-bango, I am fucked as well.
So. What is/are then you wonderfull sugestion(s)?
TAILS? I already have it, updated and ready if the need arieses.
Roll my own VPN? Yes, I have the knowledge and
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* who know already a big deal about me, because I willingly told them
Rather hilarious to read this coming from someone bitching about privacy and censorship. Tell me again why you even bother to use VPN? You act as if the Almighty Zuck wouldn't sell your ass in a second to any bidder. Mentalities like this make up the "dumb fucks" that made Zuck a billionaire.
And just in case you haven't been paying any attention to certain social media CEOs being dragged on front of Congress, your views will be censored on Facebook if it doesn't align with the iBorg collective. Enjoy.
Facebook probably will not throw me in jail, or cause physical harm to me. The current government in my country can.
I am not a PEP, and I did not recomend Onavo to PEPs (for PEPs I recomended a security audit to devise a personalized plan).
There are many media outlets that my government censors, as well as some collateral damage from that censorship (some Formula 1 Apps, for example).
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019... [foreignpolicy.com]
At that time, with Onavo's VPN I could see the censored pages, with no BW restrictions or Da
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What the fuck is a PEP?
Are you a Python Enhancement Proposal?
Politcally Exposed Person. I thought it was evident from the conversation. I see it was slightly beyond your grasp
Oddly hilarious (Score:2)
It's almost as if Zuck is talking out his ass.
Corporate malfeasance should be criminalized (Score:3)
Right now these cases have to grind through the civil system and result in fines that look good in the headlines but are really a nit to the bad actors running big tech.
If you criminalize these behaviours with mandatory minimum jail sentences and mandatory minimum fines, it could go a long way towards dealing with corporate malfeasance .
We need to go from the current situation where:
I hack Apple and I go to jail
Apple steals my personal info and they get fined
to
I hack Apple and I go to jail
Apple steals my personal info and they go to jail. They means the CEO, the chairman of the board, and the board itself. Not some patsy that Apple sets up to take the fall.
Of course, this would be difficult to implement in the current envionment where the US government is for sale to the highest bidder.
Maybe the EU will catch on. One can only hope.
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Absolutely. 200% right there with you.