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Nayla Al-Salibi reports in the “Digital Bulletin” about a study by Consumer Reports magazine that shows that tens of thousands of American companies share and provide information about American consumers on the advertising platform “Meta” or “Facebook”!
US companies share US consumer information with the meta advertising platform
Tens of thousands of U.S. companies share information about American consumers Meta or Facebook advertising platform“This matter is not new as there have been warnings about loss of users for many years “Facebook“For your privacy, a new study from the American Consumer Association and Consumer Reports magazine, released on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, shows the extent of the prevalence of this method of investing in user data to distribute targeted advertising among… … Facebook And commercial websites.
Consumer Reports magazine recruited 709 volunteers, and according to the study, they do not necessarily represent the average American citizen, and they may be more careful with their personal information than the average citizen and more knowledgeable about using information technology tools.
It is important to clarify here that the European legal framework for personal data, i.e. the European General Data Protection Regulation and the Digital Services Act, is different from what is applied in the United States or in any other country where there is no comparable legislation Framework for protecting user privacy. This means that sharing Facebook user data with commercial companies in European Union countries is not possible.
Data is a commodity between merchants and the Facebook platform
The study took place 3 years On one platform “Facebook”, After this period, the volunteers withdrew their personal data from “Facebook” Using the “Download Your Information” tool, the “Consumer Reports” study came to the conclusion that… 2230 “Supplied company”Facebook” Personal data of all volunteers participating in the study.
Consumer Reports found that 186,000 companies provide information to “Facebook“, without knowing whether this is original information or whether some of it was duplicated by the participants in this study.
The study could not reveal the names of most of these companies, which are marked with a symbol. But among non-secret companies, the companies that most often resort to this method seem to be corporations Like Amazon, Home Depot and Walmart. There are also three marketing agencies and four data brokers led by LiveRamp, which shared the data of 96% of the volunteers in the study.
Sources from which data is collected
The Consumer Reports study details some of the sources from which this data is collected. Some of these come from customer files maintained by companies, which are often email addresses and also an ad tracking number. Thanks to small data tracking tools that the Facebook platform makes available to merchants, this information can also be collected on these companies’ websites. It is also possible to retrieve data collected in physical stores. In other words, what can be called click and mortar, that is, through the virtual space of the Internet and also through real cement stores.
The study also found that companies that use an advertising platform “Dead“or “Facebook” It contains personal data about customers and information about their purchasing behavior “dead” or “Facebook” To display targeted advertising to these people or people with similar accounts.
Possible measures to help us protect privacy
Various tools are available to maintain a certain level of privacy, such as a number of add-ons for Internet browsing programs on the computer. For example, for those who deal with itFacebook” You don’t want this platform to collect your data. I advise against using the application on mobile devices such as phones and tablets, but instead refer to “Facebook“ Via the computer via the Internet browser program by downloading the Facebook container add-on, a special container to accommodate the platform “Facebook“ Prevent the user’s activity, services, programs, etc. from being tracked.
Even if you use a cell phone, you can stop tracking applications Like Facebook and Amazon For others it is better to unsubscribe. And reconnect the application if necessary.
as suggest Add-ons for Internet browsing programs to protect the user’s privacy on the computer. The corresponding add-ons can be selected, e.g. B. the Privacy Badger add-on, which disables tracking software, and also the Ghostery add-on, which prevents advertising targeting mechanisms.
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