Facebook Will FORCE All Users To Accept Being TRACKED Around The Internet

Facebook has finally responded to requests to stop tracking users for advertising. But they aren’t going to. Instead, Facebook is going to force all of those who continue to use their social media service to accept being tracked around the internet.

“People can choose to not be on Facebook if they want,” said Facebook Deputy Chief Privacy Officer Rob Sherman. Or, they will be forced to opt into being tracked everywhere they go, and that’s just the way it is. This decision was not made in the interest of the users of Facebook, but explicitly to keep the company’s business model “intact,” reported the Independent. 

Some had suggested that the site will have to make major changes once a new European Union privacy law comes into effect. Many parts of those new regulations seem in direct conflict with Facebook’s business, including new rules about what information can be harvested about users. But that’s exactly why Facebook will explicitly demand that you opt into being tracked.

Sherman said that the social network will begin seeking Europeans’ permission this week for a variety of ways Facebook uses their data, but he said that opting out of targeted marketing altogether would not be possible.  Therefore, you’ll be tracked if you continue to use Facebook.  “Facebook is an advertising-supported service,” Sherman said in a briefing with reporters at Facebook’s headquarters. Facebook users will only be able to limit the kinds of data that advertisers use to target their pitches, he said, but “all ads on Facebook are targeted to some extent, and that’s true for offline advertising, as well.”

Facebook, which is still the world’s largest social media network, will use what are known as “permission screens” to notify and obtain approval. “Permission screens” are simply pages filled with text that require pressing a button to advance. The screens will show up on the Facebook website and smartphone app in Europe this week and globally in the coming months, Sherman said. The screens will not give Facebook users the option to hit “decline.” Instead, they will guide users to either “accept and continue” or “manage data settings,” according to copies the company showed reporters on Tuesday.

Facebook Chief Financial Officer David Wehner warned in February the company could see a drop-off in usage due to the EU law, known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But more likely than not, the drop in usage will be due to the privacy concerns many have when using social media.

 

Amazon Now Wants To Photograph Your Home Every Time They Make A Delivery

Amazon has decided to offer a new service that seems innocent on the surface. The retailer has begun photographing packages left at homes and sending that picture to the customer’s email address to help them locate packages that may have been hidden.

It all seems so innocent. But is it? According to Natural News, Amazon’s new service is meant to help customers find where their package was left while they were at work or out running errands, especially if it was intentionally tucked behind a bush or a flower pot to keep it hidden from potential thieves. Amazon has a good reason for taking pictures of the homes packages are delivered to, but that doesn’t make it any less creepy and privacy concerns are now, once again at the forefront.

Especially considering USA Today reported that this new “feature” is being rolled out almost silently. Amazon has been quietly expanding a program over the past few months in which some of its delivery providers take a picture of where they put your package. The photo is included in the notice of delivery received by shoppers so they know when it arrived and where to look for it.

Amazon Logistics Photo On Delivery is “one of many delivery innovations we’re working on to improve convenience for customers,” Amazon spokesperson Kristen Kish said. The Photo on Delivery program has existed for at least six months, but recently Amazon updated the delivery device and app used by delivery personnel in its Amazon Logistics delivery system called Rabbit by drivers. Now, all Logistics drivers can take a photo. This has made the program more visible to a broader geographic swath of Amazon customers nationwide. It’s currently available at least in the Seattle, San Francisco, and Northern Virginia metro areas and only comprises a small portion of U.S. deliveries.

This feature is rolling out as Amazon increasingly asks its customers to accept its constant presence in their homes, from a voice-activated speaker that records snippets of commands to a high-tech entry system that allows delivery personnel to enter their home. It’s like Amazon is looking for ways to try to make people more comfortable with major violations of their privacy and personal space.

And when it comes to Amazon, concerns over privacy violations are more often than not legitimate, especially considering the fact that the electronic commerce giant has a history of spying and surveillance. Just a few months ago, the Daily Mail published an article on “Amazon’s creepy plan to put a camera and microphone in every bedroom” with the launch of the Echo Spot’s “smart alarm.”

But at least for now, you can opt out of having pictures taken of your home. For those who’d prefer not to have photos of their doors or shrubbery sent to them, customers can opt out of the service on the Amazon website under the help and customer service tab.