Re:International coalition calls for action against surveill...
by viro on Thursday June 24, 2021 @01:22PM
(#27620869)
> was to steal the private information of a sizable part of the world population and sell it to advertisers,
Thats not how ad targeting works.
Re:International coalition calls for action against surveill...
by lp0_on_fire on Thursday June 24, 2021 @01:43PM
(#27621240)
Ad targeting worked pretty well before the advent of mass digital surveillance. Every ad does not need a "personal" touch.
The diner across the street has paper placemats that are covered in ads - they don't print a personal and customized one for every customer that sits down. They have one placemat that has a wide variety of ads that appeal to the general customer base of the business.
That's basically how it worked on the early internet, too. The problem with early internet advertising wasn't how it was targeted - it was that the ads were damned annoying.
How much of Facebook's ad revenue actually goes into hosting and maintaining their social network? Without having looked it up, I'm willing to bet it's a fairly small percentage.
Even if, in some bizarre imaginary universe, the only revenue stream that could support a social network like Facebook, was to steal the private information of a sizable part of the world population and sell it to advertisers, is the "service" Facebook is offering really worth that? I don't think so.