Verizon fined just $1.4m for stalker supercookies Verizon will pay $1.35m for its use of "supercookies," but its customers will still have to opt out of the permanent trackers, under an agreement [PDF] reached with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Monday. The mobile giant will be required to tells its customers the supercookie exists and provide a simple …
No, no, no. It is in the first line " ... but its customers will still have to opt out ... "
I think he is making the assessment using the Duckworth-Lewis method because I don't understand why it is not "Disappointing that Verizon were not forced to make the tracking opt-in."
The big question is, how do you know "off" is really off, all the time? And will it stay off? How would you possibly ever know?
The very fact that network providers are able to interfere with the data stream in a totally "out of band" way, from the consumer perspective, is what's wrong here. This type of low-level data manipulation for tracking purposes should be illegal, plain and simple. I thought that's what the Phorm fight was all about?
I wonder what Verizon's executives would think of MY concept of Targeted Advertising:
My definition of """Advertising""" is the butt end of a rifle.
My definition of """Targeted""" is swift blows to varied body parts, like the fingers, the back of one's head, their ribs, knees or kidneys; etc.
So Mr. Verizon executive, do you want some """Targeted Advertising"""???
I am all for a unique experience. Oh, and by the way, it is opt-OUT, and you can't opt-OUT until you have been subject to at least one """Targeted ad""".
Final comment - the amount is missing a few zeroes.
... and a hurricane promptly tears through the Caribbean.
Verizon is a certified "identity provider" working for the UK's identity assurance scheme, GOV.UK Verify (RIP).
Guess what happened today.
Verizon's name disappeared from the Government Digital Service's list of "identity providers" we Brits can sign up with.
So Verizon just bought the government off for $ 1.35 million, using the bandwidth we pay Verizon for to deliver ads that the advertisers pay Verizon for.
Incredible bargain for Verizon, for the rest of us....
Well, I guess the perpetual screwing w/o orgasm might be what seems to be making everyone so angry these days.
Set the tumbrels a-rolling, say I.
I've told you this before. I've told you this until I was blue in the face. People want to rant and rave about governmental spying but our governments are bought and paid for by the very people doing the truly effective spying: corporations. You give Facebook your daily activity list, Twitter your stream of consciousness, Visa/MasterCard your precise location and preferences every time you pull out and use that card, and now with confirmation your ISP for everything you do online.
And a large majority of people will give the corporations that desired information willingly, possibly without thought and most frequently without care.
But then continue to complain, quite exclusively, about their government.
There is a reason that systems are "opt-out", the corporations know that most people will not activate the opt-out features because the largest majority of people don't care. They don't care to take the time to learn what is going on, they don't care to take the effort to go through the procedures and they don't care about the repercussions. Facebook is good as it gives me something I want, government is bad because it only seems to levy taxes on my "freedom".
Yet who has become the more active collector of your personal information, and more importantly who are you willing to GIVE it to when they simply ask for it?
Let them eat cake.
"We would like to acknowledge Verizon Wireless's cooperation during the course of this investigation and its willingness to make changes to its practices for the benefit of its customers."
That's what that sounds like. Would they have brought this great benefit to customers if someone hadn't forced them to. I doubt it.
The Register 
Biting the hand that feeds IT
Copyright. All rights reserved © 1998–2024
