I have a similar reaction from folks when I don't trust services/devices. Most telling moment was when I refused to upload my license to LinkedIn because I lost 2FA (token on phone, phone destroyed). Microsoft assured me they would "delete the license as soon as it was verified". I've written too many software systems for too many companies, and I do not believe them.

Of course, they'd outsourced to AU10TIX, which did retain the licenses, and got hacked: https://www.404media.co/id-verification-service-for-tiktok-u...

That's from 2024, but we just had a larger breach with IDScan this week.

Sorry for the digression, but the common thread is how much to trust these companies, and my conclusion after dealing with them for many years is they will lie, cheat, and steal to get whatever they want. Some paranoia is warranted, I think.

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sbarre 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> my conclusion after dealing with them for many years is they will lie, cheat, and steal to get whatever they want

Honestly, it's not even that extreme in most cases. I think it's usually not malice, it's incompetence.

That's why I don't trust big companies with my data. Nothing to do with some CEO's evil plans, but more to do with the hundreds/thousands of mid-level "not my job" or "doing my best" workers who are actually in charge of handling my data.

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computably 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Nothing to do with some CEO's evil plans, but more to do with the hundreds/thousands of mid-level "not my job" or "doing my best" workers who are actually in charge of handling my data.

The CEO is responsible for what their company does. If a major breach can occur through the oversight or "incompetence" of one worker, the CEO has already failed, whether through negligence or malice.

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JoshTriplett an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> I think it's usually not malice, it's incompetence.

Sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice, and should be treated accordingly.

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andrepd 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Pardon my French but bull-fucking-shit! A CEO _should_ take responsibility for what their subordinates do. It's preposterous to simple throw up our arms and say "oh well, some employees were sloppy so we lost some 100 million user IDs and other sensitive information that we promised not to store but we lied. Oopsie, silly me, pardon my wee incompetence tee-hee". No no no NO NO!

At some level, and certainly at the level where you get paychecks of 10 million a year for the "huge responsibility you are bearing", then incompetence IS malice!

	▲	sbarre 7 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Uhh. I think you misread my comment pretty badly here. I am not making excuses for anyone. I am saying that it's less likely to be some evil machination that led to the misuse of my data and more likely to be negligence or incompetence. Both are inexcusable, but one is more common/likely than the other. You can certainly link them together and yes leaders should be held responsible no matter what, but from my perspective as the user who had his data leaked, it doesn't really matter how/why it happened, does it?
	▲	osullivj an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Everything you say should be true on any level playing field. Not in the British public sector where shambolic incompetence is the norm.

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fillskills 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Replit was asking for my license to change email address. Jeez

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EA-3167 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Same here when they find out I’ve never had an FB/IG/X etc account. As though having that crap in your life is somehow mandatory.

People who make poor choices love to pretend that they had no choice at all.

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andrepd 2 hours ago | parent [-]

1. Interaction with Meta is virtually mandatory in many places in the world. Try opting out of Meta when your kid's daycare or your building's group chat is on whatsapp.

2. It doesn't really matter if you opt out, because _other people around you don't_: they take pictures in which you show, they tag you, they talk about you, they send you links, etc. Which means they (Meta) build a shadow profile of you anyway.

The "personal responsibility angle" is pure fiction.

	▲	throw-qqqqq 33 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		My building’s group is on FB. I’ve managed without access for over a decade. I live a somewhat normal adult life and manage without having anything to do with Meta ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I probably miss out on some things, but I don’t notice. All my friends just contact me through other sources. If you have kids, it’s more difficult - I can acknowledge that.
	▲	EA-3167 an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		You’re assuming that my primary concern is my privacy rather than my sanity. I don’t understand how anyone can seek out a non-stop feed of the sort of people who routinely post on FB. I’ve seen exactly what the doom scroll does to people without them realizing it. So yeah if a business requires me to have an account I’ll find a different business to patronize. Frankly if you’re expecting someone other than you to take responsibility for the media you consume, that’s a problem.

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joquarky 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

When are the victims going to start getting significantly compensated for these breaches?

They will keep happening as long as the consequences are just the cost of doing business.

	▲	toss1 19 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		It will be when enough people elect enough politicians who take action against this weaponized incompetence and strip-mining of the peoples' assets. Or, if that does not happen, when enough people rise up in revolution and take the compensation for themselves. Or, never. If enough people vote enough or revolt enough, they cannot be stopped. But the incentives for too few people rising up are too costly. They work hard to keep the equilibrium in that balance.