Misuse Case
More on #Google #Topics and the #adtech and #privacy implications from people who are smarter than me, check out the discussion on the #securitynow podcast by @leo Laporte and #stevegibson (the latter is not on Mastodon).
You can read and search the episode transcripts on Steve's website. Start with Episode 935, "TOPICS" ARRIVES. https://www.grc.com/securitynow.htm
/1
Misuse Case
The idea, #Google hopes, is that #Topics will survive privacy legislation that bans "compiling a dossier" style #adtech #tracking
They are piloting it now to see if it works. Because of Google's dominance over the browser ecosystem with #Chrome and over online advertising generally, they're the only entity in a position to do something like this.
/9
Misuse Case
So if you are:
A queer, pregnant woman living in Dercatur, IL who runs a business restoring old cars, likes folk music, and recently came into a small inheritance that's tied up in probate
Current #adtech #tracking (probably) knows all this about you. Eek!
All #Google #Topics will know about you is that you like antique/classic cars, not anything about your sexual orientation, your pregnancy status, or your money situation. By design.
/8
Misuse Case
The preparation #Google is making for a future crackdown on invasive #adtech tracking and data mining is something like #Topics which doesn't compile a dossier but instead asks:
"What has this device's browser/app activity indicated a general interest in during the last three weeks?"
Which is a lot less invasive, generally.
/7
Misuse Case
#adtech tracking and associated #datamining and brokering at this point basically creates a dossier on our whole lives that includes where we have lived, who we associate with, our sensitive personal health information, and our sensitive personal financial information.
If/when new laws and regulations in the medium term make this unfeasible, #Google wants to be prepared.
/6
Misuse Case
So it's significant that @leo and #stevegibson who are #Firefox fanboys and adblocking evangelists have a broadly positive take on #Google #Topics (they still prefer Firefox!).
They suspect that Google sees the writing on the wall. As demands for #privacy online grow louder and legislation follows, Google wants to be prepared, so they're working on a compromise.
/5
Misuse Case
#stevegibson and @leo are also kind of ambivalent about #Google and what it does with #adtech and its #monopoly power more broadly - although sometimes it uses its power to push for wider adoption of #cybersecurity best practices all over the web and in the industry.
If you really want to keep up on what #Google is doing and whether it's good, bad, ugly, or all of the above, they're good people to consult.
/4
Misuse Case
As for @leo and #stevegibson they frequently engage with issues surrounding #adtech #tracking and #privacy
They *really* know how user tracking works and all the ways in which we are tracked.
Steve in particular is a big fan of #Firefox and adblockers (so am I). This podcast has turned me on to a lot of privacy-preserving tools that I now use regularly and recommend to other people.
/3
Misuse Case
Full disclosure: @leo administers the Mastodon instance I belong to, which is associated with the #ThisWeekInTech podcast network that #securitynow is on. I'm a donor to the podcast network. Nobody asked me for a recommendation though.
/2
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