Quote:
Originally Posted by HenryA
You are going to get used if you use the internet. Mostly you won't know who is using you, but they will know you.
De-anonymizing is kind of a red herring because when the data is in separate containers it might be anonymous, but stir the containers together and its pretty straightforward to establish patterns, and those patterns can lead to identifying users.
Between your internet use and cell phone use, you are not anonymous to someone with access to the data and time to stir it up. Cell phones are the most virulent data collectors around. What do you think Verizon, ATT, T-Mobile do with your data? Marketers buy it all the time. But mostly they just want to sell something and don't care who you are other than a likely buyer.
The data that can be readily bought by anyone who can pay for it is perhaps more indicative of your patterns and life activities than a law enforcement subpoena. The subpoena is limited in scope. The commercial data market is vast beyond belief. And government agencies buy the data too. However, they are not looking to sell you anything.
None of this means you should start wearing a tinfoil hat. But you should think about it.
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I mean, researchers and experts have been saying for a while that they’ve been able to re-indentify almost all users from anonymized datasets:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/24/re...nonymous-data/
In the government example you mention, though, I know there’s been a lot of recent news about them purchasing location data from app developers who were collecting that stuff on users in order to help track individuals they’re interested in.
09-25-2020, 10:09 AM
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