Post ARQxIrBJEdhMRD4dfc by hanscees@mastodon.lol
(DIR) More posts by hanscees@mastodon.lol
(DIR) Post #ARQaB0F5MhUNHG7smW by jefftk@mastodon.mit.edu
2023-01-08T02:48:39Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
I think the online ads ecosystem is most likely illegal in Europe, and as more decisions come out it will become clear that it can't be reworked to be within the bounds of the GDPR: https://www.jefftk.com/p/can-ads-be-gdpr-compliant
(DIR) Post #ARQaB0sR0OxrFIXJ7A by FroehlichMarcel@sigmoid.social
2023-01-08T08:37:20Z
0 likes, 1 repeats
@jefftk What’s wrong with tying ad selection to content (contextual targeting) rather than to the reader?This was the old normal in offline publishing.Some already do it successfully online:https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/24/data-from-dutch-public-broadcaster-shows-the-value-of-ditching-creepy-ads/
(DIR) Post #ARQha2dwH7nrdsdal6 by jamesholden@mas.to
2023-01-08T10:00:16Z
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@FroehlichMarcel @jefftk IMO this is much better than supposed personalisation. I find the personalisation is wrong most of the time, for example if I view some product out of curiosity last week; this week I’m spammed with ads for it. I’d rather have relevant and useful ads However, ads and tracking are blocked by my home firewall (pfSense + pfBlocker). What’s more concerning is how many sites just don’t work at all when you block the ads and tracking tech.
(DIR) Post #ARQlFlY6WLOmePUnNA by FroehlichMarcel@sigmoid.social
2023-01-08T10:41:28Z
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@jamesholden @jefftk I agree, it is sad that publishers don't see the opportunity and the reduced legal risk compared to clinging to exploiting profiling data.For many other participants in this ecosystem sticking to the current mode of operation is an existential question. This is a huge business underpinning most of the web as we know it today.
(DIR) Post #ARQls9Sk3jGPozI7RQ by jamesholden@mas.to
2023-01-08T10:48:23Z
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@FroehlichMarcel @jefftk I never actually minded a few content-targeted ads in the old days. The entire industry just got completely out of hand and basically ruined the web.
(DIR) Post #ARQnlxdxI08tKsiCy8 by FroehlichMarcel@sigmoid.social
2023-01-08T11:09:41Z
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@jamesholden @jefftk And micro-targeting based on the same data can be used for political campaigns.By targeting individual, personality based fears at scale it can potentially damage democracy. Probably it already did in some countries.From a societal risk perspective, there are many good reasons to avoid the kind of massive data collection that the current adtech ecosystem is built on. Yet, it is an illusion that an individual has the required skills and tools to properly opt out of this.
(DIR) Post #ARQpTtpkumAkDSkNEG by jrozanski@mastodon.online
2023-01-08T09:23:56Z
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@jefftk Ads are not illegal. What is illegal is targeted advertising without consent.So, in a way, ads not illegal but without targeting are pretty much pointless.
(DIR) Post #ARQpTuJX83zXhog9dw by FroehlichMarcel@sigmoid.social
2023-01-08T11:28:49Z
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@jefftk @jrozanski Not pointless if you select ads by context of the content, like in print. Works just fine without individual targeting data.
(DIR) Post #ARQpjfX7qqNeUtYIyG by jrozanski@mastodon.online
2023-01-08T11:31:40Z
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@FroehlichMarcel @jefftk Pointless because knowing the context implies tracking user web activity by the ad network.This only works if you:1) serve ads through your website infrastructure sourcing ads via your backend ... which barely anyone does, or2) use a first-party advertising solution You cannot send users browsing context to ad networks without consent.
(DIR) Post #ARQsrUDS71w1ZnlmBU by jefftk@mastodon.mit.edu
2023-01-08T12:06:41Z
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@FroehlichMarcel personalization isn't the only GDPR issue; there is also ad fraud detection which is more fundamental.On personalization, the main downside of contextual targeting is that for most sites (ones without a clear commercial tie-in) it will bring in much less money, reducing the fraction of sites that can run without paywalls (or run at all).But, unlike with ad fraud, I don't think prohibiting ad personalization by default is an overreach by regulators.
(DIR) Post #ARQtyfKrGjJ82nDkgq by FroehlichMarcel@sigmoid.social
2023-01-08T12:19:13Z
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@jefftk Dutch public radio reports increasing ad revenues since they switched to contextual.I don’t think that GDPR has anything specific to say about ad fraud. I think I know it quite well, and it is only about personal data processing.
(DIR) Post #ARQv5qqixUFJje7GK0 by jefftk@mastodon.mit.edu
2023-01-08T12:31:42Z
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@FroehlichMarcel effectively detecting ad fraud requires collecting lots of personal data
(DIR) Post #ARQvcNekWE8Kkb1gBc by FroehlichMarcel@sigmoid.social
2023-01-08T12:37:36Z
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@jefftk Right, just data protection regulation doesn't care about ad networks being defrauded.The only ones who should worry are publishes who pay the bill. So it is another reason for them to change course, right?
(DIR) Post #ARQxIrBJEdhMRD4dfc by hanscees@mastodon.lol
2023-01-08T12:56:27Z
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@FroehlichMarcel fraud is the biggest abused #meme to push data gathering beyond limits.#fraud is a right wing clickbait thingy