Verizon and AT&T have been quietly tracking the Internet activity of more than 100 million cellular customers with what critics have dubbed ‘supercookies’ — markers so powerful that it’s difficult for even savvy users to escape them.
The technology has allowed the companies to monitor which sites their customers visit, cataloging their tastes and interests. Consumers cannot erase these supercookies or evade them by using browser settings, such as the ‘private’ or ‘incognito’ modes that are popular among users wary of corporate or government surveillance…
There was surprise among security researchers and privacy activists in the days after the Electronic Frontier Foundation, based in San Francisco, first tweeted about the practice on Oct. 22, calling it ‘terrible’ and citing an article in Advertising Age from May. Several news organizations have since reported the news.
(Washington Post, November 5, 2014)
Duh.
Folks, I know I come across as thinking I’m intellectually superior in some of my commentaries. But you would too if you were obliged to comment on the talking points of clueless hacks media outlets routinely present as experts on politics, sports, and every topic in between.
You might think, for example, that the esteemed Washington Post reported “there was surprise among security researchers and privacy activists” because it verified that these experts had no way of knowing what tech companies like Verizon and AT&T were up to.
Except that even I knew, and I’m no security researcher or privacy activist.
Here is the cautionary note I sounded on this topic almost five years ago, long before Edward Snowden became the self-appointed patron saint of privacy:
You’d better pray you are never prosecuted or sued for anything. Because not only Big Brother but even your civil adversary could compel Google to turn over all of the searches you made when you thought nobody was watching. And just think how embarrassing or compromising it would be to have some of those search terms come under public scrutiny – no matter how innocent your explanation.
So if you’re planning to cheat on your spouse, or to do something even worse, don’t search Google for guidance because you might as well be talking to your local gossipmonger, or to the police. And if you think you can un-Google your most compromising searches, think again…
By the way, it’s not just Google. Because you’d be shocked at the spying and eavesdropping your employer, your Internet Service Provider, your local supermarket, or even your favorite (naughty) website engages in to keep track of your emails, purchases, preferences and … peccadilloes. And all of them blithely use that information for their own commercial purposes, but would rat you out just as blithely at the mere hint of prosecution or civil litigation.
(“Beware: Google Declares ‘Nothing’s Private,’ The iPINIONS Journal, December 8, 2009)
And here, because I mentioned him, is why I thought the alarm Snowden sounded with his NSA leaks was as traitorous as it was redundant:
You are probably aware that President Obama appointed a commission to recommend cosmetic changes to the NSA programs. But he only did so to avoid having to point out how stupid the American people are for buying into Snowden’s self-righteous and misguided outrage. After all, the NSA collects metadata for the sole purpose of trying to keep them safe.
By contrast, these outraged nincompoops are showing nary a concern about tech companies tracking every move they make online for the sole purpose of trying to sell them stuff. Which makes the open letter Google, Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo!, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and AOL sent to Obama last week complaining about NSA surveillance a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black.
(“Judge Ruling on NSA Spying Amounts to Judicial Selfie,” The iPINIONS Journal, December 18, 2013)
Enough said?
Related commentaries:
Beware Google…
Judge ruling on NSA…