Track THIS...!!! Part 3 of 3
I know the suspense is KILLING ya...This is how they get around privacy issues related to gathering and dispersing your Personal Information:any information that you voluntarily choose to display on any publicly available portion of the Ning Platform, or on any Network, becomes publicly available and may be collected and used by us or others without restriction.We may provide Personal Information to third parties for their use in performing internal business functions (e.g., payment processing, maintenance, security, data analysis, email transmission, or data hosting) on our behalf.Other reasons why Personal Information might be disclosed:We may disclose Personal Information if we have a good faith belief that doing so is required by a subpoena or other judicial or administrative order or otherwise required by law or assist government enforcement agencies.Assist government enforcement agencieshow? Enforcement agencies like the FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security? What a perfect way to covertly indentify, locate, profile, and track targeted individuals or groups.So Ning gets bought out by whoeverprivate, corporate, governmentthen what?In the event of a change in ownership, or a merger, we reserve the right to transfer all of your Personal Information, including email addresses, to that entity. We will use reasonable efforts to notify registered users of such a transfer as chosen by us in our discretionKey wordsas chosen by US in our discretion. They are not obligated to tell any member/user or business party anything about the relinquishment/exchange of YOUR Personal Information.How about assurances of security for information on the Ning Platform?we cannot guarantee that it will remain free from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, or alterationwe cannot guarantee that our security measures will prevent hackers or other unauthorized persons from illegally accessing or obtaining this informationIf a security systems breach occurs, we may post a notice on our homepage, or elsewhere on the Ning Platform and may send email to you at the email address you have provided to us.May in this context means will probably not. Are you confident that your Personal Information is safe and secure?The following excerpts have been compiled that express public concerns surrounding this kind of covert data gathering and profiling behavior.****It poses a real risk to peoples ability to shop anonymously, says Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at the U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups. No one follows you around in a real-world store.U.S. PIRG was among several privacy groups that have been concerned about whats happening with these kinds of advertisements. Earlier this year, the organization filed a complaint with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and called for an inquiry into behavioral targeting, especially when it happens instantaneously, and not just on shopping sites but all websites. Other groups involved in this claim included the Center for Digital Democracy and the World Privacy Forum.An anonymous profile is created simply based on your actions online. But Mierzwinski says this is still an issue because it may limit the choices you have and even possibly the prices you are offered. The good news is, the government is paying attention and will likely implement some new rules focused on online advertising. Among the ideas is a do-not-track list thats similar to the Do Not Call Registry for telemarketers.In a nutshell, what happens is that a website creates a profile of your behavior and then shares it with other sites you visit that are in its network.Here are some suggestions about how to take control of the online advertising that you see. Keep in mindsimply blocking tracking cookies may hinder or disable the site from operating properly. Learn how profiles are created from one of the advertising technology companies, BlueKai, which has a detailed explanation on its website. Look for a white i icon on a blue background -- this symbolizes that the ad you see was based on behavior or demographic information. On Yahoo! sites, look for the AdChoices icon that links to more information on the ads youre seeing and your options for managing your privacy. Download an Internet browser plug-in (called the Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out) that automatically prevents sites from creating a profile of you at AddOns.Mozilla.org. Read the privacy policy of sites you visit, scanning for information on opting out of their targeting program.
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Excellent series of articles, Timey. I read them on Newsvine... was going to offer my meager praise here and then saw that you'd published here, too. Your research is very good. You've done a great service. Thank you.
Great series of articles, My Lord.
It is a lot of material to cover and you did it well. I'm glad that your last installment. At least it gives everyone some material to best help protect yourself.
Well done and thanks for the series,,,great and timely information!
Miss Bitey...
Thank you. Ah wuz afraid that I was going to put folks ta sleep. Like...how do you make a 'Privacy Policy' entertaining...much less interesting and understandable.
I've learned some things in this process...things I wasn't even remotely aware of. One of those "stumble on" type of things.
Jus thought ah pass on what ah found...glad you enjoyed.
Well thank you M'Lady. When you finished reading, did you gain any kind of insight or change of perspective on how all this works together?
Whoever uses this type of platform can amass an amazing amount data and information. This data can be collated in different configurations to produce information on just about ANYTHING. From identifying trends in thought/behavior, public opinion to personal buying habits and marketing changes that improve buyer response. The feed back would be incredibly accurate and fast...as close to "real time" feedback that you can get.
When linked together...whoa, consider the possibilities...???
Glad you enjoyed the read Larry...Hopefully it wasn't too dry or boring to wade through and provides some insight into what is going on in the information business and possibly 'visualize' the world where it "MAY" be going.
Well I could tell what kinda article I was getting into right off the bat on the first. I was surprised to learn about the different privacy options I have by simply visiting some of these advert sites so I also learned something new as well!
Thought that this was interesting and that you might like it...
Forget YOLO: Why 'Big Data' Should Be The Word Of The Year
Yes ah DID...thanks for the link Larry.