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

Posted by msmash on from the in-some-other-news dept.

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.

8 of 67 comments (clear)

  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 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.

  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
  3. 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)

  4. 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;
  5. 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.