• can@sh.itjust.works
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    11 months ago

    Do they sell data or sell services using data they collect? Honest question.

    • cynar@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      I believe generally not. They sell the results of processed data, but the data is their golden goose. Why sell it wholesale, when you can charge for every use of it?

        • bartolomeo@suppo.fi
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          11 months ago

          I think they profile individuals and sell those profiles to ad companies, or in the case of google (ad company AND source of data) they pair ads to devices that fit a profile for the ad, like “rides a bike”, “risk averse”, “owns several cats” would be a profile for an ad selling cat bike seats that can hold 4 cats. That’s one way of using the data but there are many more, each more nefarious than the previous one, I guess culminating with Cambridge Analytica, especially their African endeavours.

          Btw is your username in reference to the band can?

          • can@sh.itjust.works
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            11 months ago

            Btw is your username in reference to the band can?

            Yes it is! You’re only the second person to catch that in my 6 months here.

          • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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            11 months ago

            Google is the ad company. They don’t sell their primary business advantage to competitors.

            CA bought data from Facebook, not Google.

      • theneverfox@pawb.social
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        11 months ago

        You’d be surprised how blatantly companies sell very personal data on a person. Google’s not going to do it openly because of pr, but a little subsidiary might

        Google probably isn’t going to sell everything, but it’s pretty likely there’s an offshoot company who will sell individual data.

        Their data is indeed their golden goose, but if they sell data for individuals at $300 or even $10 a pop, no one is going to get enough of their dataset to compete. They could even rate limit… Although if companies start to pay a billion or 10 to get full data dumps on a country, they might refocus on collection.

        After all, the data isn’t the true golden goose… It’s the golden eggs that they process and sell. It’s their ability to collect data that’s most valuable

          • theneverfox@pawb.social
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            11 months ago

            Here’s a list of examples where Google was examined by the courts The first search on the topic I’ve made

            I don’t have a smoking gun for you, but I’ve got a dozen lawsuits saying that Google is lying about their assertion that they don’t sell user data

            It’s not proof, but it’s very telling… I’m not saying that Google is directly selling user info, I’m saying that you can buy a list of credit card purchases made by any individual from Equifax for $200

            Google isn’t selling information directly, but it sure as hell seems like they’re selling it indirectly

            I haven’t looked into the issue deeply, but a casual search has only reinforced my opinion

            • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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              11 months ago

              You think Equifax is buying data from Google? About credit card purchases? Google doesn’t even have access to that kind of data. It’s credit processors and credit bureaus that are selling you out. Credit bureaus openly do what people accuse Google of doing, yet the complaints about selling data are always directed at Google. People running credit bureaus must be laughing their asses off.