Saturday, December 11, 2021
OPT-OUT TOOLS THAT DON'T WORK..."ANONYMIZING DATA" IS A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY
Apple's 'Do Not Track' Button Is Privacy Theater
from the privacy-theater-incorporated dept
Earlier this year Apple received ample coverage about how the company was making privacy easier for its customers by introducing a new, simple, tracking opt-out button for users as part of an iOS 14.5 update. Early press reports heavily hyped the concept, which purportedly gave consumers control of which apps were able to collect and monetize user data or track user behavior across the internet. Advertisers (most notably Facebook) cried like a disappointed toddler at Christmas, given the obvious fact that giving users more control over data collection and monetization, means less money for them.
By September researchers had begun to notice that Apple's opt-out system was somewhat performative anyway. The underlying system only really blocked app makers from accessing one bit of data: your phone's ID for Advertisers, or IDFA. There were numerous ways for app makers to track users anyway, so they quickly got to work doing exactly that, collecting information on everything from your IP address and battery charge and volume levels, to remaining device storage, metrics that can be helpful in building personalized profiles of each and every Apple user.
Privacy advocates and the press noted how this was all giving Apple users a false sense of security without really fixing much. Privacy experts and press outlets also repeatedly informed Apple this was happening, but nothing changed. In fact, the Financial Times notes that six months after the feature was introduced, Apple has further softened its stance on the whole effort:
"But seven months later, companies including Snap and Facebook have been allowed to keep sharing user-level signals from iPhones, as long as that data is anonymised and aggregated rather than tied to specific user profiles.
Here's the thing. There's been just an absolute torrent of studies showing how "anonymizing" data is a gibberish term. It only takes a few additional snippets of data to identify "anonymized" users, yet the term is still thrown around by companies as a sort of "get out of jail free" card when it comes to not respecting user privacy. There's an absolute ocean of data floating around the data broker space that comes from apps, OS makers, hardware vendors, and telecoms, and "anonymizing" data doesn't really stop any of them from building detailed profiles on you.
Apple's opt-out button is largely decorative, helping the company brand itself as hyper privacy conscious without actually doing the heavy lifting required of such a shift:
"Lockdown Privacy, an app that blocks ad trackers, has called Apple’s policy “functionally useless in stopping third-party tracking”. It performed a variety of tests on top apps and observed that personal data and device information is still “being sent to trackers in almost all cases."
A lot of folks spend a lot of time trying to tap dance around a fundamental truth: any effort to give consumers more control and clear insight over what's being collected or sold reduces revenues by billions of dollars annually, even if only a fraction of existing users take advantage. And nobody with their face buried deep in the data monetization trough wants that. It's why it's 2021 and the U.S. still doesn't even have a basic, clear privacy law for the internet era. Not even a super clean one mandating basic transparency requirements and working opt-out tools.
So what we get instead is a lot of gibberish and privacy theater by a lot of folks who don't want to take even a tiny hit in revenues in exchange for healthier markets and happier users.
We also get just an endless parade of semantics, like ISP claims they "don't sell access to your data" (no, they just give massive "anonymized" datasets away for free as part of a nebulous, broader arrangement they do get paid for). We get tracking opt-out tools that don't actually opt you out of tracking, or opt you back in any time changes are made. And we get endless proclamations about how everybody supports codifying federal privacy laws from companies that immediately turn around and spend millions of dollars lobbying to ensure even a basic privacy law never sees the light of day.
At some point this combination of feckless oversight, rampant overcollection of data, minimal transparency, and repeated failure to adhere to the basics on data security will result in a privacy scandal that makes the last fives years' worth of scandals look like a grade school picnic. When that happens, we might finally see some traction on at least a basic law that mandates transparency, opt-out tools that actually work, and penalties for lax security. Until that momentum shift happens, the majority of "privacy reform" efforts are going to have a high ratio of meaningless song and dance.
Filed Under: apps, data, do not track, ios, opt-in, opt-out, privacy
Companies: apple, facebook, snap
A DATA WITH DESTINY MISSION: Rocket Lab successfully deployed two satellites to orbit for real-time geospatial intelligence company BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY)
Rocket Lab Launches 109th Satellite to Orbit
Rocket Lab USA, Inc, a leading launch and space systems company, has successfully deployed two satellites to orbit for real-time geospatial intelligence company BlackSky (NYSE: BKSY), bringing the total number of satellites deployed by Rocket Lab to 109.
The ‘A Data With Destiny’ mission, arranged for BlackSky through global launch services provider Spaceflight Inc., was Electron’s 23rd lift-off from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 on New Zealand’s Mahia Peninsula. Following lift-off at 00:02 UTC, December 09 2021, Electron successfully delivered the two BlackSky Gen-2 Earth-imaging satellites to a circular 430km orbit, growing BlackSky’s constellation of real-time geospatial monitoring spacecraft to 12. BlackSky’s commissioning process for these satellites is now underway to bring them into service as quickly as possible, with the last pair of BlackSky satellites deployed by Rocket Lab beginning commercial operation and generating revenue within six days of launch.
Rocket Lab founder and CEO, Peter Beck, says: “Congratulations and welcome to space once again, BlackSky. These back-to-back missions are a showcase of the benefits of rapid-launch in action: quick constellation expansion, streamlined access to space, and fast delivery of global insights to BlackSky customers that Rocket Lab is proud to facilitate with dedicated launch on Electron.”
Global Space Launch Systems - Market and Technology Forecast to 2027
Market forecasts by Region, Technology, Application, Orbit, Launch service, and Payload. Market and Technology Overview, and Leading Companies
Published: October 2019 - Pages: 305 pages
Download free sample pagesThe ‘A Data With Destiny’ mission is the latest launch for BlackSky as part of a multi-launch agreement with Spaceflight to deploy numerous BlackSky satellites on Electron. Rocket Lab has now deployed seven satellites to low Earth orbit for BlackSky on missions across 2019 and this year. Another two BlackSky satellites are scheduled for launch early next year on Electron from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. Today’s successfully deployed satellites, along with those previously launched to space by Rocket Lab and the remaining pair of satellites next in line, represent the largest number of satellites BlackSky has dedicated to a single launch provider to date.
‘A Data With Destiny’ is Rocket Lab’s final launch for 2021, capping off a busy year for the company. With the successful deployment of spacecraft for government and commercial customers, Rocket Lab launches this year supported operations in Earth observation, weather monitoring, and Internet-of-Things, and enabled technology demonstrations in maritime surveillance, quantum computing, advanced AI, communications, and deployable sensors.
The successful deployment of another Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft to space earlier this year is also representative of the company’s growth in space systems, including several strategic acquisitions that will bolster future Rocket Lab missions to the Moon, Mars, and Venus and further enable Rocket Lab to streamline access to space for satellites as an end-to-end space company. The next year for Rocket Lab includes a busy manifest of Electron launches for new and repeat satellite customers, and ongoing development of its next-generation launch vehicle Neutron, tailored for mea-constellation deployment, interplanetary missions, and eventually human spaceflight.
Source: Rocket Lab USA
Date: Dec 9, 2021
View original News release
Friday, December 10, 2021
NOTICE | News Releases for High Pollution Advisories Discontinued
That's one way to "fix" a problem!
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News Releases for High Pollution Advisories DiscontinuedADEQ strives to efficiently deliver public health information to residents and visitors in regions of Arizona experiencing air quality issues and the media is an important partner in this aspect of our mission. To this end, we want to ensure you stay informed about High Pollution Advisories, air quality forecasts, and other air quality alerts that are relevant to your DMA. What's Changing?Effective immediately, news releases for High Pollution Advisories (HPAs) will no longer be distributed to our statewide media list. Your email address remains on ADEQ's media distribution list and you will continue to receive ADEQ statewide news releases. We are making this change along with enhancing air quality forecast information on our website to improve overall user experience. Thank you for continuing to help us keep Arizonans and visitors aware of air quality that's relevant to them. How do I get HPA alerts?DOWNLOAD the free Air Arizona Mobile App | Learn More > FOLLOW our social media accounts where we post HPAs and other air quality alerts: VIEW & BOOKMARK the enhanced Air Quality Forecast web page(s): SUBSCRIBE to receive air quality forecast emails (including HPAs) for communities in your DMA: Visit our topic subscription page, enter your email address and select the "Daily Air Quality Forecasts and Advisories" you want to receive. Questions?Email: pio@azdeq.gov or Call: 602-540-8072 About ADEQUnder the Environmental Quality Act of 1986, the Arizona State Legislature established the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality in 1987 as the state agency for protecting and enhancing public health and the environment of Arizona. For more information, visit azdeq.gov. ADEQ will take reasonable measures to provide access to department services to individuals with limited ability to speak, write or understand English and/or to those with disabilities. Requests for language translation, ASL interpretation, CART captioning services or disability accommodations must be made at least 48 hours in advance by contacting the Title VI Nondiscrimination Coordinator, Leonard Drago, at 602-771-2288 or Drago.Leonard@azdeq.gov. For a TTY or other device, Telecommunications Relay Services are available by calling 711. ADEQ tomará las medidas razonables para proveer acceso a los servicios del departamento a personas con capacidad limitada para hablar, escribir o entender inglés y/o para personas con discapacidades. Las solicitudes de servicios de traducción de idiomas, interpretación ASL (lengua de signos americano), subtitulado de CART, o adaptaciones por discapacidad deben realizarse con al menos 48 horas de anticipación comunicándose con el Coordinador de Anti-Discriminación del |
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Flash News: Ukraine Intercepts Russian Kh-59 Cruise Missile Using US VAMPIRE Air Defense System Mounted on Boat. Ukrainian forces have made ...
