John Oliver noticed on Sunday night that no one is really anonymous online, and the complete lack of government oversight and regulation has allowed users to monitor and observe in annoying ways.
“We all find ourselves targeting ads for something unique and thinking, ‘How did they know they were showing me?’ He said.
Here’s how: Data broker.
“They collect your personal information and resell it or share it with others,” he said, adding that these companies operate in a “vast and unregulated ecosystem that can be very scary, very fast.”
They keep lists of people who have everything from particular sexual preferences to diseases and ailments, and sell them to anyone. One company even sold specific locations to their customers.
Oliver said it’s hard to change the system.
“Currently, the entire Internet economy is more developed on this skill,” he said. “Any free article you consider on the Internet is free because you are a product. They make money by selling your data.”
Oliver suggested several ways to reduce tracked and sold, but said comprehensive federal law was really needed.
Lawmakers are reluctant to act, but Oliver said they might like it when they realize “how easy it is for someone – and I mean someone – to get their personal information.”
“Any,” in this case, including Oliver himself, who removed a Manila envelope with information obtained through a “horrible” exercise that included targeted ads in the Capitol Hill area and audit data that can be anonymized for a particular match. People.
“If you think, ‘How’s that legal?’ ᲡI totally agree with you. “It shouldn’t be,” he said. “And if you’re a legislator who’s a little nervous right now about whether your information is in this envelope or not, and if you’re afraid of what I can do it, you may have to worry about making sure he can do ‘nothing about it.’
Then he happily concluded: “Anyway, sleep well!”
Watch his full Sunday “Last Week Tonight” segment below:
Source: Huffpost
