Comment by tgv
4 hours ago
Remember: every bit of data collected through a google-analytic, doubleclick, etc. link can potentially be abused for this as well. Techies have a responsibility as well. Remove them from your applications, or replace them with safer alternatives, and don't log (meta-)data just because it might be useful one day.
> every bit of data collected through a google-analytic, doubleclick, etc. link can potentially be abused for this as well
I’m confused by this shoehorning.
This article is about actual, not potential, abuse. It involves healthcare data the government owns being used in a novel and disturbing way. The only nexus to the private sector is in Palantir, but they aren’t bringing the data, just some analytic tools.
> This article is about actual, not potential, abuse.
The article is about feeding a giant pile of metadata to a service and getting results. That pile was collected in a mundane manner as a part of everyday actions. People probably didn't think much of it at the time. Even if the potential for abuse occurred to them, clearly the vast majority swept the concern aside and went on about their day.
That's exactly what's happening with the internet giants as well. People embed analytics and bot detectors and fonts and who knows what else from major third party providers with hardly a second thought. Other people then navigate to those websites with little to no awareness of the potential for abuse.
This article is about a concrete example of such potential abuse that went on for many years before blindsiding a great many people when it was abruptly weaponized overnight.
So it's too late, but if the trend continues, the US goverment may well ask Google, Meta, etc. for their data, and get a more detailed list of undesirables. From their data, you can infer ethnicity, age, country of origin, education, political affiliation, etc.
So, before it's too late, we, the people potentially enabling this data abuse, must think about consequences and morals.
Also: today they come for Latinos, tomorrow can be your turn.
You should still practice minimization of PII, also known as Data Minimization. Especially in the EU, where it's the law (GDPR).
You should also wash your hands after using the toilet. That’s about as relevant to HHS sharing data with DHS as what you’re talking about.
This. And when you start to think about how pervasive this is it's very likely that organizations like BCA and DHS are leveraging big tech with respect to location data of targets like students. I'm appalled at the lack of concern districts have levied against these organizations with respect to protecting their students. I wouldn't be surprised to see leaked memos between Palantir / Flock / Google / Microsoft / TikTok / Meta in the future.