Comment by ttoinou
6 years ago
These systems invade everything, and give you no real way of consenting
This is a simplistic objection, that doesn't stand to cursory scrutiny
When you visit some random site, you will be informed upon to dozens of services, with no way of even knowing which
You decide the browser and extensions you are using, and your computer is actually making the connection to the others websites.. !
You might not use Google, but can you avoid sending an email to anyone using Gmail - particularly those who use it with their own domain?
When you send a regular snail mail you don't control either the postal box used -- a company could be scanning the document. Don't send the mail, or encrypt it.
with companies employing many mechanisms to surveil you on the public street
The issues lies in the fact that the streets are public and not private places
> You decide the browser and extensions you are using, and your computer is actually making the connection to the others websites.. !
Consent requires intent. Just because my browser happened to connect to some website, does not mean I give consent to have my accesses recorded and used for other purposes.
You may say it's legitimate to log and track without consent, but you can't invent my consent.
And the fact that it's often considered legitimate to log and track without consent is what enables most surveillance capitalism (though some consensual business models exist as well).
> When you send a regular snail mail you don't control either the postal box used -- a company could be scanning the document.
And that would be part of surveillance capitalism as well.
> The issues lies in the fact that the streets are public and not private places
Maybe so; analyzing such questions is part of the studies on surveillance capitalism.