U.S. Senators Urge FTC to Investigate Apple for 'Transforming Online Advertising Into an Intense System of Surveillance'

[btrach144]

The reading comprehension on here is at an all time low. Tech companies have made tracking possible via device IDs. Then Apple comes back around a few years later and tries to limit the very system they created and act like a hero.

Apple created the problem they’re trying to solve in the first place.

Apple is not a hero. They are part of the problem.

 

[MrDerby01]

YES!!! FINALLY! Everyone is starting to see what this company actually is! South Korea lead this first other countries are following. Outstanding!!!!

 

[mikethemartian]

Wait…isn’t Apple the one company that isn’t trying to do this? I don’t understand why they are going after Apple.

Just because Tim Cook claims it doesn’t mean it’s true. You aren’t given a guarantee that Apple won’t sell your data. They don’t underwrite a surety bond for you in case you are damaged by information they may provide others. It is just PR. The only reason they have to block Google and Facebook from your data is because it makes it more valuable to them if they are the only ones who can sell it.

 

[nvmls]

All modern operating systems have APIs with unique identifiers, such as UUID and MAC address. Companies like Facebook offer open source APIs and single sign on service that many third party developers use, and these APIs exploit unique identifiers to aggregate and target users.

As far as I am aware of, Apple is the first company actively trying to close these loopholes. Are they a bit late to the party? Yes. But they are actively trying, many steps ahead of these bureaucrats.

If you actually tried you would set this id off by default, or remove it altogether. If you were actually trying, you would put out a browser with an ad-blocker built in, and actual useful privacy oriented granular tool, not a checkbox saying "prevent cross-site tracking" with absolutely no info what's behind the curtains and calling it a day.

 

[MrDerby01]

Let's be clear.. Apple helps the Chinese government spy on their citizens each and everyone day. "We are only following the law...." Sound familiar? Smoke and mirrors people.. smoke and mirrors.

 

[dk001]

I wonder how many posting here read the article considering it says “Apple and Google”.
Nice headline tweak to garner attention.

 

[H2SO4]

Just wondering if any local shills would like to comment on this.

You need to give up some private info to people you don't like/trust to live and take advantage of 21st century tech, you'd be naïve to think you can get away without doing so.

Apple are not different enuogh from other companies to be able to call them trustworthy. If you don't believe that, enjoy giving them your data.

 

[DotCom2]

Another example of technology naivety, literally the Don Quixote club they must be members of.

You mean like the legislator who asked Mark Zuckerberg , "If Facebook is free to join, how does FB make money?" lololol

 

[0194839]

This comment section is on fire. Holy moly! Lol.

 

[planteater]

Anything that has a “sign in with…”, “Share to…” or “Like…” can potentially be exploited by Facebook, Google, Twitter, and the likes of them, this does not make Apple less liable though.

I am sure these Congresspeople have a few backers behind them because: $$$. I don’t expect these older, busy politicians to know much about the ins and outs of the tech industry, they must be actively influenced by interested parties.

Google and others don’t need a person to login to track. They have ways to fingerprint the device regardless of Apples tracker ID. Take a look at how many apps use Googles app-measurement. com analytics. There are countless other analytics parasites as well.

Apple has a long way to go to even get to a basic level of privacy. A good start would be blocking all trackers. Period.

 

[Moonlight]

Because Apple may have lied or exaggerated their privacy claims. Thus the investigation. It is important to do it because, see, you believed Apple, and if it's not true, then it is important to expose them.

But I also agree with those who snark the senators. Frustrating that those who hold tech companies accountable often do not know tech. So it ends up going nowhere or the wrong decision is made.

Apple might be controlled by a giant hippo, should we investigate that too just in case?

 

[bassanoclapper]

There’s a lot of Kool Aid in this section, today

 

[jimbobb24]

Did these senators time travel from from 2007? This has been googles business platform and many others platform for years…

 

[Analog Kid]

First create the feature to track users, then spin it as we're limiting it because "privacy".
Apple does trick their customer base to believe stuff in the most childish ways, don't blame them, this is the reality of the average consumer thinking.

Isn’t that what “privacy“ means? It doesn’t mean nobody knows something about me, it means that information is controlled and limited to known and trusted parties.

In the world of advertising, would I prefer nobody to know anything about me? Sure. This “relevant ads” pitch, I think, is far more childish than anything Apple pitches on privacy.

If Apple tries to go from more private to completely private, though, advertisers will just marginalize the platform and the only other options we have will be far worse. As it stands, Apple is leveraging their significant and high spending user base to keep advertisers interested while they push improvements to privacy.

I don’t know how it goes much further without legislation. It’s a bit silly for Senators to ask the FTC to investigate rather than passing actual privacy legislation themselves.

 

[gnipgnop]

Some level of tracking has always been a part of sales and advertising. If you make political or charitable donations, you're definitely going to be inundated with requests from people/organizations that want you to make more. They'll keep adding you to new lists faster than you can take yourself off of them.

 

[MacLawyer]

Because Apple may have lied or exaggerated their privacy claims. Thus the investigation. It is important to do it because, see, you believed Apple, and if it's not true, then it is important to expose them.

But I also agree with those who snark the senators. Frustrating that those who hold tech companies accountable often do not know tech. So it ends up going nowhere or the wrong decision is made.

Thank you for clarifying. I, too, was wondering why Apple was also a target.

 

[Smith288]

Wait until they find out what supermarkets have been doing with "loyalty cards" for decades...

Those cards are you "opting in". It's not like you can't shop there without them.

 

[DblHelix]

Senators so out of touch. We only want these IDs so we can track campaign performance and remessage people who take an action that indicates propensity to buy our products.

 

[_Spinn_]

Google and Facebook should be investigated for sure. Apple has been pushing against user tracking in recent years.

 

[Blkant]

It’s not just the mobile operating systems that are a problem but very much Windows, the embedded OS in your car, the OS in your TV or smart speaker (yes many of these are Android based, but not all so it’s not redundant) and the countless predatory applications that are developed as well. Why is Microsoft missing from this…? Or Meta for that matter? Or the numerous websites hell bent on tracking you even between devices?

It’s all problematic surveillance.

 

[pacalis]

Wait…isn’t Apple the one company that isn’t trying to do this? I don’t understand why they are going after Apple.

Zuckerbucks (i.e. D-Oregon; D-Massachusetts; D-New Jersey; D-California).

If they were serious, it seems obvious that they should start with Facebook and then Google.

 

[maxoakland]

They have gone to great lengths over the last few years to improve privacy.

I agree but if they caused the problem in the first place, that’s not really *that* impressive and it doesn’t undo the damage they did

Zuckerbucks (i.e. D-Oregon; D-Massachusetts; D-New Jersey; D-California).

If they were serious, it seems obvious that they should start with Facebook and then Google.

You don’t think Apple lobbies the government and donates to candidates? They’re the richest company on the planet

 

[wonderings]

Google and Facebook should be investigated for sure. Apple has been pushing against user tracking in recent years.

Apple is not squeaky clean in this field. Because Apple is pushing back against others tracking you does not mean they are not tracking you and using your data that they collect. If they are a tech company they are basically using you to get data as data is incredibly valuable. Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, they are all doing it. Apple along with Google and Amazon both were found out to keep recordings from their smart assistants (ok google, Siri, Alexa) and had people listening them. Supposedly it was purely internal to improve things, we were all told of course that it is all private and these always listening devices would never send info back to their chain holders without our consent. Keep it simple, if they are a tech company they are tracking you. Live with it or start migrating away from tech.

 

[macsimcon]

Ah, so rather than working on IMPORTANT legislation to make our lives better (universal healthcare, free college, gun control, women's rights, student debt relief, voting rights, Electoral College reform, expanding the Supreme Court, climate change mitigation...to name just a few), these members of Congress are working on something nobody really cares about.

This do-nothing Congress fits our do-nothing President perfectly.

This country is such a failed state. It's really pathetic.

 

[MrDerby01]

Ah, so rather than working on IMPORTANT legislation to make our lives better (universal healthcare, free college, gun control, women's rights, student debt relief, voting rights, Electoral College reform, expanding the Supreme Court, climate change mitigation...to name just a few), these members of Congress are working on something nobody really cares about.

This do-nothing Congress fits our do-nothing President perfectly.

This country is such a failed state. It's really pathetic.

You can always move if you don't like it here.. Just sayin ;o) \o/