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Telco CEO: Consumers Have 'Double Standards' Over Data Privacy (thestack.com)

An anonymous reader writes: Despite consumers continuing to criticize corporate attempts at monetising data, they are happily handing over data to major tech companies such as Facebook, according to the head of Telefonica Deutschland, Thorsten Dirks. Dirks argued that there is a double standard among consumers who 'scrutinize any attempt to make money off their data', while at the same time 'handing over data voluntarily to companies such as Google and Facebook.' These firms, he opined, are stealing away business across the very infrastructure that telcos have invested billions in. Calling for a wide debate around data privacy in Germany, Dirks said that he was looking into ways to make money from Telefonica Deutschland's huge store of customer data. One proposition was to leverage the anonymised data of its 44 million mobile subscribers' location and movements to support crowd and traffic control.

67 comments

  1. Because it's my choice by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Insightful

    When I give personal info to FB or Google or whoever I make the decision to do so, and I know what I've told them. When the telcos vacuum up my info they grab everything without even asking.

    fuck the telcos.

    1. Re:Because it's my choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I know what I've told them.

      Possibly, but I would be surprised if you knew *everything* they gleaned from you.

    2. Re:Because it's my choice by Snotnose · · Score: 1

      I pretty much do, as I don't have a FB account and use duckduckgo :)

    3. Re:Because it's my choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I give personal info to FB or Google or whoever I make the decision to do so, and I know what I've told them. When the telcos vacuum up my info they grab everything without even asking.

      fuck the telcos.

      I don't do either. And neither do I have a LinkedIN profile - for some reason people - people who should know better - think LinkedIN is different. I'd argue that they are even worse. And remember they have your professional information - something MUCH more sensitive than your cat pictures.

      Never the less, my data has been used and given carelessly for so many years, that the my efforts to guard it is pretty much a waste of time - even if it does make me feel better.

      See, in this day and age of Choicepoint, the Credit Bureaus, the Medical Information Bureau and every other database out there, privacy is a thing of the past. I wouldn't mind it too much but the fact that it's available all over the World has me worried. Who is to prevent Ahmed the terrorist from using my information in Israel to assume my identity and then have Massad come and kill me?

    4. Re:Because it's my choice by AvitarX · · Score: 1

      Also,

      When I choose to give google my info I benifit.

      They know where I am because I'm ok with the trade of telling them where I am in exchange for what Google Now does with it, or Google Navigation. They have access to my email because they give me free very robust email.

      What do the phone companies want to give me? a piece of the money they make? let me chose?

      --
      Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
    5. Re:Because it's my choice by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Insightful

      When I give personal info to FB or Google or whoever I make the decision to do so, and I know what I've told them

      The obvious answer that is so obvious that it is almost as if the telco's are deliberately ignoring it. If I could encrypt every possible element of my network traffic from them (I mean down to layer 2), I would. I want them to know NOTHING and I want them to be able to hand over to the government, NOTHING. Even if you use VPN services, they know you are doing that. Already overshare.

      Facebook and Google I can lie to and mislead, it's my choice what to disclose and how.

    6. Re:Because it's my choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      When I give personal info to FB or Google or whoever I know that that is my payment for their services.

      When I PAY my telco for internet access, they have already profited from me, now they want my valuable data for free as well? No thanks.

    7. Re:Because it's my choice by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Telcos are INFRASTRUCTURE. Why *THEY* privatized INFRASTRUCTURE, *THEY* will have to answer for that.

      Captcha: complete

    8. Re:Because it's my choice by networkBoy · · Score: 1

      I know I *don't* know everything they've gleaned from me.
      Doesn't matter.
      I am with OP in that it's a severe difference between giving me a service for my data (effectively paying me for my data) and then monetizing it, versus hoovering up my data for using a service I'm *PAYING FOR* and trying to monetize that as well.
      -nB

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    9. Re:Because it's my choice by retchdog · · Score: 1

      cool, the Verband der Privaten Netzdienstleister (or whatever) can make layer 2 encryption mandatory, and work out a fee structure; maybe a sliding scale where paying a premium keeps your information completely encrypted (to subsidize the costs of implementation), while others can choose a "managed" privacy profile. where there previously wasn't choice, there would now be choice.

      --
      "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
    10. Re:Because it's my choice by davester666 · · Score: 1

      Just like the telephone comes don't get a right to listen in on everyones phone calls in an effort to make more money, ISPs shouldn't be permitted to listen in on everyones internet traffic in an effort to make more money. They were paid to transmit the data. Job Done.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    11. Re: Because it's my choice by buchanmilne · · Score: 1

      But can the telco do analytics on call patterns to provide data to companies who would be interested in knowing, say how many telephone subscribers aged 20-30 in a specific area call fast-food numbers more than once a week.

    12. Re: Because it's my choice by buchanmilne · · Score: 1

      "When I give personal info to FB or Google or whoever I make the decision to do so, and I know what I've told them."

      Really? Th8s is exactly the double standard. You *think* that because you don't use facebook that they don't know about you. But, every Facebook 'like' button on any website you use is tracking you. Using this information, and correlating visits to various sites by non-Facebook users and Facebook users, Facebook probably already has a profile on you and can determine to some degree your interests, friends, associates.

      Why do you think various big players are interested in LetsEncrypt? They can track you with SSL everywhere while others can't. You are giving them more exclusive access to everything you do.

      "When the telcos vacuum up my info they grab everything without even asking."

      How do you know this? Regardless of what information they collect, the better question is, what protections do they provide? Since this is a European Telco, they would have some decent privacy protections in place (which Facebook and Google have violated).

      Of course you Americsn don't seem to think a universal privacy law is required, the FCC is considering imposing restrictions on ISPs, but to anyone else you are fair game.

      In many other countries, there are wider laws that cover all industries and regulate the storing and processing of private information. If you had something like this, you wouldn't have any irrational fears that ISPs track you more than Facebook, and everyone would have more privacy from the likes of Facebook and Google.

      fuck the telcos.

  2. Voluntarily by sconeu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What part of "Voluntarily" does this asshole not understand?

    I am aware that Google and FB use the data I provide. I am aware that by using their service, I am the product and not the customer. I know what I am handing them.

    On the other hand, I am a *CUSTOMER* of the ISP, not the product. I am ***PAYING*** them for the line. I have no idea what data they are harvesting and selling.

    If this asshat can't understand the difference, maybe he should just go get some cheese for his whine.

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    1. Re:Voluntarily by TheRaven64 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I am aware that Google and FB use the data I provide.

      You're probably a minority. Most people seem to have very little idea of what Google and Facebook do with their data and are often quite shocked when they learn. The most common reaction I've seen is for people to disbelieve because they think that what Google and Facebook are doing must be illegal.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    2. Re:Voluntarily by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I love seeing tired memes posted as a substitute for wit. My being a customer means exchanging something of value to a third party for something of value to me.

      I am a customer of a telco if i decide to exchange cash dollars for access to the internet.

      I am a customer of facebook if i decide to exchange personal data for access to political posts from my grandma.

      I'm also a customer of facebook if i decide to exchange cash dollars for access to personal data. It's almost like forex in a sense.

      Assuming that customers are generally rational actors means that they assign their own value to all of these things. While it's true that there is a massive imbalance in terms of what they are getting out of the deal compared to facebook, your predilection for dehumanizing them by calling them a "product" is more likely an expression of your smug self-righteousness than any true sense of concern.

  3. Planos by Disparo+Digital · · Score: 0

    planos Turbine suas vendas com e-mail marketing e potencialize suas oportunidades de negócio!

    1. Re:Planos by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Plane tumblrina sues venti company email market to potentially sue opportunist negros?

  4. Big difference... by BenJeremy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I PAY my ISP or Cell provider, so I don't expect them to try and make even MORE money off of my data. Google and Facebook are "free" services, and we are well aware of the fact that they are using our data (and act accordingly, if we are concerned)

    1. Re:Big difference... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but it is apparent you likely don't know what Facebook and Google are collecting. It is NOT just what you chose to share. They monitor all search and browser and contacts info among other things. They give the illusion of letting you chose what you share. But time and time again, it has been clear they take much much more

    2. Re:Big difference... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I PAY my ISP or Cell provider, so I don't expect them to try and make even MORE money off of my data. Google and Facebook are "free" services, and we are well aware of the fact that they are using our data (and act accordingly, if we are concerned)

      Are you willing to pay more to Telcos in order to deny the option of Telcos making money from anonymous data about their customer base?

      Emphasis is on "anonymous data" about the customer base, not the individual customer.

      Now, have you ever wondered how companies that provide road traffic information get that information? Those sensors that hang over or are embedded in roadways that collect anonymous data about the traffic passing over/under them. That data comes from government entities that own those sensors, and I doubt that data is given away for free.

      Those road traffic companies might also use data that cell phone companies collect about the location of cell phones on their networks. That data is necessary to make cell phone networks work, so that data has to be collected. If it's sold in "anonymous" format (no IMSI or MEID or phone numbers attached), then that data is truly anonymous and fairly accurate.

      Before saying "Yes" or "No" to something, think about the consequences of your choice. What might you be giving up by making a given choice?

  5. Companies don't understand the implications data by wellwhatever · · Score: 1

    "anonymised data of its 44 million mobile subscribers' location and movements to support crowd and traffic control." 1.there is no such thing as "anonymised data". All that data is easily anonymised. 2. that makes the second sentence actually read - " personal data of its 44 million mobile subscribers' location and movements to support crowd control." 3. what don't you understand now? The entire developed world is choosing to ignore the potentially sinister implications of the highly personal and detailed dossiers they keep on every individual. They are choosing to do this because the corporations who keep that data want to make money off it and the governments which write the laws know full well the potential to control their populations by analyzing and leveraging that data. This guy's "problem" is the public understands this.

  6. It's not a double standard, you pillock by tietokone-olmi · · Score: 2

    It's rather that you didn't get permission!

  7. Anonymization can't be done on big datasets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Anonymization can't be done on big datasets, and the reason can be found in fingerprint analysis based on information theory: see EFF on fingerprinting.

  8. Re: Surrender by dugancent · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    As of right now, she is ~200k ahead in the popular vote.

    Trump - 59,428,493
    Clinton - 59,626,695

    --
    SJWs are the new boogeyman. -Me
  9. Hey Thorsten? by Opportunist · · Score: 1

    Call again when I hand over YOUR information to Facebook. Until then your comparison sucks.

    What people do with their own information is their own business. If they trade it for ... whatever Facebook offers them, that's THEIR business. Not yours. Likewise, if you hand over YOUR information, it's YOUR business.

    If you want to hand over my info, please first go play with something poisonous.

    --
    We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
  10. Double Standard? by mitcheli · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Perhaps instead of it being a double standard, there's a purpose behind it. There's no need to "surrender" either. Services like Facebook (deceptively) provide a service to users to share the information with people they know and "trust". Other companies that monetize the information sell it to God knows who where you're left with custom made spam messages in your inbox promising to fix that ED issue you had years ago. Meanwhile, Aunt Martha is pleased as punch that you have a new fiancé and that the two of you are hitting it off quite nicely. Now, the fact that Facebook and other similar services also monetize your information is not very well known to the general public and their targeted ads are often times ignored (unless you're particularly suckered).

    --
    Select from tblFriends where interesting >= 4;
  11. Hooker / Uber senerio by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You = Pimp
    Uber driver = Telco
    Hooker = Data / customer information
    John = FB / WWW endpoints
    Cop = FCC or equivalent

    So a pimp hires an uber driver to be his go-to guy for transporting his hooker to all these Johns. The pimp pays the Uber driver the "Fare" going rate.The Uber driver notices that this hooker is visiting and sharing the pimp's goods to the same Johns over and over. So he starts using this hooker for his own gains. The pimp starts to get upset saying he doesn't mind the Johns using his hooker, but doesn't like that the Uber driver is just making gains from the hooker without his consent or knowledge.

    The pimp walks up to a cop, who is friends of friends with the Uber driver, and asks "why is this guy allowed to use my hooker for his own profit"? The cop tells him, "there is no laws to restrict who can collect a profit from your hooker Mr. Pimp after it leaves your house". The pimp gets mildly upset and tells the cop there should be a law against this. The Uber driver gets wind of the pimp's intent, and puts a letter in the mail. The letter reads 'We are imposing a hooker transport cap of blah blah miles, after said miles are reached you will now be charged $25 more per mile with a cap of $200 per month per hooker. Unless you opt for hooker business class'.

    The pimp goes to the cop again and asked why this is okay for the Uber driver to continue to use his hooker, and put these limits on his service. The cop shrugs and the pimp sits on his thumb and waits for the cop to change his mind.

  12. Re:Surrender by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just give up on privacy, America, and embrace your new totalitarian Dear Leader. You have spoken, you don't care about privacy.

    Thanks champs!

    - Putie-poo

    I absolutely agree with you, but not because Trump won. If anything Hillary would have been the totalitarian Dear Leader.

  13. Opt-In vs Opt-Out by zerofoo · · Score: 1

    I'm no Facebook fan - but their users willingly put their information on the site.

    I don't willingly give information to my Bank/Telco/Doctor/Mechanic/LawnGuy to do with as they please.

    All private information sharing should be Opt-In BY LAW.

  14. Give and Take by FellowConspirator · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I have a variety of things. I give some things away, as is my right. If someone comes up and takes a thing from me, even a thing I was going to give away to someone else, I may get upset. This is not a double standard. This is how "things" work.

  15. yeah, but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    i give my data willingly to facebook because it's free. if i pay my ISP, they better not share it without my consent. also, if they want to, give me free internet. ya buncha greedy bastards.

  16. Oh the humanity! by The+Cisco+Kid · · Score: 1

    People actually being allowed to CHOOSE which companies are allowed to use their personal info.

    Why is that a bad idea, again?

    (Corporate entities that people widely choose to NOT trust with their data, especially ones that most people have no choice but to be customers of, if they want decent broadband Internet, need not answer)

  17. Pfft by CryptDemon · · Score: 1

    It's about as much as a double standard as rape. Oh sure you fuck any piece of meat that passes your path, but when we decide to take it without permission, that's just a double standard. You're already giving it up to everyone else, what's the difference?

  18. Two Different Beasts by Mia+Yuuki · · Score: 1

    There is one very clear difference in these two situations.

    1. When it comes to a Telco, they have my information due to the need for me to provide it pursuant to a contractual agreement for service that was formed between the two of us. I never agreed to, nor desired for them to monetize my data in addition to the money I pay them for the service they provide me.

    2. When it comes to Facebook or the like, I am providing my information in exchange for a free service where I am for all intents and purposes the product. They are not being paid by me in any way and I provided them my information freely in exchange for access.

    The Telcos want to say that they get to be paid by the customer and then also monetize the data. You don't get both unless there was a very clear understanding of it up front.

  19. more importantly by Comboman · · Score: 1

    more importantly, they are not offering anything in return for that data. Facebook is offering a free social network. Google offers free email, search, maps, etc. What are the telcos offering in exchange for the data they want to collect?

    --
    Support Right To Repair Legislation.
    1. Re:more importantly by sconeu · · Score: 1

      What are the telcos offering in exchange for the data they want to collect?

      Free Ads!!!!!

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    2. Re:more importantly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly. We pay the Telcos for service, and now thats not enough? Now they want monetize my data too?! They can eat shit and die, and eat more shit and DIE AGAIN!!!!! And no, I don't use data mining sites like Fakebook and TWITter etc...I don't have a so called "smart" phone, just a cheap flip phone that only does phone calls and texts...and I very seldom send or receive texts! I do not own a tablet, nor do I use Windows.

      ANYONE that wants to monetize my data can just FSCK themselves!!!!

  20. Logical Fallacy Much? by ninthbit · · Score: 1

    the very infrastructure that telcos have invested billions in

    That telcos financed using subscriber fees and government subsidies. We paid for it, we'll use it as we please.

  21. Also overlooking the fact: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That with Facebook/Google, you are getting a SERVICE in EXCHANGE for your personal data. Whereas with the Telcos you are EXCHANGING MONEY for a SERVICE over which you expect privacy except during a legally filed and approved wiretapping warrant by a member of law enforcement of good standing. Not that either of those situations actually happens, but that is the idealized belief people are under.

    Telco bosses: If you want to get all that personal information, then offer free telephone service in exchange for it. If you will not, then you are recieving your financial compensation directly from the customer and STFU about wanting greater profits and feeling slighted that someone who offers their service for 'free' with the stipulation that they may utilize your personal information in the pursuit of upkeep costs and profit is held to a different metric of acceptable behavior to you who have a monopoly on the communications infrastructure for your region.

  22. What a piece of trash by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The difference is that the data is not the telcos'. It is the consumers' data, and the consumers can give away or keep that data as they see fit.

    Some loser complaining about how he people complain about him stealing their data and selling it to third parties should have zero voice.

  23. I don't think it means what you think it means... by bbsguru · · Score: 1
    This word "voluntary"...

    Seriously.

    I can volunteer what information I wish to whomever I like, for or without reason.
    That does not constitute approval for anyone else to know any of it.

    Jealous much?

  24. Re:Surrender by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Die in a fire.

  25. I control what they collect too .... by King_TJ · · Score: 1

    Not only is it about voluntary vs involuntary -- but when I'm on social media, I get to say whatever I'd like people to associate with my name. If you save/store that, great. I often post opinions and commentary that I see no reason to prevent others from archiving away, or even using to try to "profile" who I really am.

    What disturbs me is when somebody mines my data without permission, not even giving me anything useful in exchange for it, and gives me no say in editing what they do or don't keep. I may be fine with you knowing, for example, that I'm a libertarian agnostic who likes to listen to rock and alternative music. But I may not want you to track all the details of exactly which grocery items I purchase. (I can't see anything good that would come from tracking the later. Stores might want it to target market coupons or specials to me, but that can be done without getting nearly that granular in what's stored in a database, long-term, and that data has a high potential of getting used against me. For example, some healthcare provider deciding I'm "high risk" of something or order based on how much of a food purchase I made that they deem unhealthy -- not even able to confirm if that purchase was always consumed by me or others.)

  26. Information is a form of payment by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    People give their information in exchange for the use of services.

    If the telco wants to do that, it needs give the option of charging money OR selling customer data.

  27. What A Bunch Of Shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Facebook provides a service free of charge. it is understood that they need to monetize your data to provide the service and the majority has accepted that

    Verizon charges you a lot of money to provide you with a service and now to help supplement their profits, want to sell your private data they forced you to give them to use their service. They will give you no discount on your service based on the money they make from your personal data

    one of these things is not like the other and no fucking sane, rational person would categorize them as the same

  28. Yeah, I understand the telco's position. Women hav by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Yeah, I understand the telco's position. Women have double standards too. They'll sleep with random guys who are jerks to them, but won't sleep with me even though I'm nice!

  29. Re:Because it's my choice ... but not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really? You have to be far more aggressive than that. Unless you visit nothing on the internet then web caching services are tracking your every move. You can probably confuse some of the trackers with browser plug-ins but a visit to a single site authenticated with, for example credit card credentials, means you are probably sunk.

  30. They're ALREADY getting paid by ScienceofSpock · · Score: 1

    I already pay my provider for my internet service. They are entitled to nothing more than that.

    Facebook and other services like it require no monetary compensation on the part of the consumer, and the service collects data in exchange for using it.

    Both services are paid, one with money, one with data. Why do you think you should get both?

    1. Re:They're ALREADY getting paid by pr0fessor · · Score: 1

      That's the thing if I don't want to share my data with facebook I could use a paid service that's not ad supported although they are few an far between next to the ad supported free to use sites.

      If a telco wants to collect my marketing data they better be offering free service just like facebook and google.

  31. The stupidity is strong with this one... by XSportSeeker · · Score: 1

    There is no "double standard" you fucktard. When you sign up to Google, Facebook and others, you know what sort of data you are sharing and that they'll be leveraging that to make the service profitable. Those services are driven by ad revenue, so it's clear that being free of charge in direct monetary sense, they'll have to do something to continue providing it.
    And even then, neither Facebook nor Google are free of scrutiny and complaints on sharing user data. Some of the biggest scandals both companies were involved with had something to do with sharing too much user information.

    We already have to pay absurd prices monthly to get telcos mostly horrible service, and now you want to surreptiously sell client data outside contractual obligations to turn even more of a profit? Go f*ck yourself. How about offering free unlimited plans for your clients as long as they are willing to share anonymized data? That would be on par with Google and Facebook.

  32. Re:Surrender by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    All hail president orange juice.

  33. We PAY for phone service. They HAVE their money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Phone companies are trying to double-monetize their product.

    We voluntarily give data to Google and Facebook as PAYMENT for useful services.

    We give telephone companies and ISP's MONEY for useful services.

    Now the phone companies are trying to double-dip. Fuck that. We already paid, you already provided, the contract is done.

  34. Re:Surrender by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Any place that doesn't use an electoral system is stupid. Looking at the population centers that have such a large set of votes it would be easy to only address the concerns of 10 large states while ignoring the rest if only popular vote mattered.

  35. Because I pay for telecom services by ZipK · · Score: 1

    I pay for Google services with my data. I pay for telecom services with dollars. You don't get both, and in fact, when I pay for enterprise services from Google, I pay in dollars instead of data.

  36. Re: Because it's my choice ... but not really by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    VPN.
    Always clear browser sessions.
    Run browsers in a sandbox.
    Use multiple browsers.
    Use a virtual machine. Preferably once that resets to a static state after use.
    Run programs that generate false and bad data to poison the well.
    Always use anonymous credit cards for internet purchases.
    Be kind to your knees. You'll miss them when you are kneecapped by a loan shark.

  37. The important difference is ... by allo · · Score: 1

    The important difference is ... the free decision.

    I can post my full CV here, if i want it. And i still expect slashdot not to publish my mail address.
    Just because *I* decide to publish one thing, that doesn't mean OTHERS may decide to publish other (in their opinion less important) things about me.

    It's MY data. So i can do whatever i want with it. You cannot.

  38. Don't do that by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... happily handing over data to major tech companies ...

    No-one should be handing their real name and date of birth to a tech corporation, regardless of how much corporations want it. The problem is, the real purpose of social networks is de-anonymizing; you want people to find the real you. That becomes a problem when a person decides they don't like the real you, exposing you to loss of employment, loss of insurance, or police arrest. Or, a lot of people can decide they don't like you, exposing you to criminal threats, cyber-bullying, doxxing, or real-life stalking.

    Corporations also want to take advantage of the real you too, notably the social network you just told how you think, where you live, what you own and who your friends are. Corporations could sell anonymized data and perform advertising in-house but no law or responsibility towards you, enforces that outcome. They are free to monetize all the facts they have, however they want. That needs to change because everyone is entitled to privacy.

  39. Re:Surrender by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "I'm focusing on the cities, who cares what those hicks in tornado valley think? They should just stay in their trailers. All thirty of them. We put those toothless meth-peddlers at the bottom of our priority list because a single New York block has more people than the town of Horseshoe Bend." - America without the EC

  40. Most importantly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can LIE to facebook and the others. Try opening a subscription with a telco using fake details.

  41. It isn't the same at all by fox171171 · · Score: 1

    FB (etc) is a "free" service that you pay for with your privacy. Most people should be aware of that. Many probably are not. I choose not to utilize them.

    The "telco" is not a free service. We pay for it already. Many of us have little choice in which one to use as we are only served by one provider. Even where there are multiple providers, if they all do it, then there is still no choice.

    The "entitlement" factor is at work. Why does everyone who can somehow get possession of any of your data feel entitled to sell it?

    If I put documents into a safe deposit box, should I expect the bank to make copies and sell them?

  42. WRONG by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's NOT a double standard, you brain dead dipshit. When people do silly shit like sign up to use FB and Google services, they are making a choice to surrender all of their privacy. People aren't flocking to ISPs with the hope that all of their information and habits will be to anyone willing to pay.

    In closing, I'd like to add: go fuck yourself.

  43. Like a Nun, Never Had It, Never Will by tmjva · · Score: 1

    Guess it paid off never having a Facebook account.

    Alas there is still slashdot.

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