Why data brokers are allowed to collect your data without an explicit consent in the first place is a question no one yet seems to address.

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yunnpp 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

Indeed. The CCPA is welcome, but this explicit opt-out just means that only broccoli of the technical caliber that frequents HN will realistically benefit from the law. This needs to go a step further and make opt-out the default for all to benefit. And it is the social duty of the technical broccoli that understand these things that need to push this for everyone's benefit.

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kristianp 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

As one of the technical broccoli like you, I think this is a good sentiment, but it would be much harder to legislate.

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casper14 3 days ago | parent [-]

GDPR works like this. You need consent to process data vs the US whwre its just a free for all

	▲	PeterStuer 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Im theory yes. In practice, we have "legitimate interest".

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TheDong 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Are you willing to take a significant salary cut to benefit people?

All the big tech companies, Google, Meta, Netflix, etc make a huge amount of money by using Ads to push things people don't need onto them, brainwashing people. This brainwashing is massively more effective with data-collection.

If tech companies didn't hoard and sell people's data, the brainwashing would be less profitable, Google would pay lower salaries, and the entire industry's salaries would go down as a result.

Salaries in the US might drop from ~$500k to $250k for an average software engineer. Would you be willing to take that sort of cut?

You could also "vote with your feet" and move to europe where the GDPR protects everyone like you want, and your salary will drop to maybe $100k USD.

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vineyardmike 3 days ago | parent | next [-]

> If tech companies didn't hoard and sell people's data, the brainwashing would be less profitable, Google would pay lower salaries, and the entire industry's salaries would go down as a result.

I’d like to see data on this. Obviously Oracle and Meta and companies that agressively track you would be impacted, but how much would Google search be changed if it wasn’t personalized? Would there be a meaningful financial impact?

Also as far as I understand, data brokers tend to exclude meta, Google, et al because they don’t sell their data they just use it internally. This could further entrench these players more.

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renewiltord 3 days ago | parent [-]

They shouldn’t be allowed to use things you’re curious about to target you. That’s abusive. So given that, they’d just have to show generic ads.

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vineyardmike 3 days ago | parent [-]

I'm not sure I fully agree that they shouldn't be allowed to use the active search query for picking ads, if that's what you're implying by "curious about". AFAIK that's the main (exclusive?) signal for Google's SERP ads.

	▲	renewiltord 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Well, everyone thinks their pet advertising should be exempt from privacy protection so that's unsurprising.

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amanaplanacanal 3 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

You think the average software engineer in the US makes half a million dollars?

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yunnpp a day ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I don't work for ads.

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DesiLurker 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

thats a strawman, its not like advertisement & brainwashing people is the only way to make money in tech. I am old enough to have seen how valley was before this big-tech ad garbage showed up. In fact I'd say all this power with 7 or so big tech is hindering innovation, so, IMnsHO Fuck 'em all.

Asking 300M people to leave country and move to europe instead of fixing problems here is just stupid and at best a shoddy attempt at victim blaming.

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terminalshort 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

All those TOS you just click the box and don't read give companies permission to sell your data to third parties.