> WhatsApp has been facing one hell of a backlash ever since it shared that it wanted to update its privacy policy with changes that would allow Facebook to aggregate all of its users' data across all of its services.
I think this is bad. But also a general tendency: Accumulations of data are valuable to companies which exploit them. Larger accumulations of data are even more valuable, in a non-linear way. This is because data sets are multi-dimensional, and the more dimensions you have, the more information you can get out of it, even if the users initially have never thought about that. So, if you have two large accumulations of data, and you join them, you get extra value.
Google is doing this aggregation as well, as mentioned in its terms of service.
You also see that in they way Microsoft is trying to link business and personal accounts via Lynx and so on. You also see that with platforms like LinkedIn (which was bought by Microsoft).
In other words, it works a bit like gravity. Mass attracts other masses and more mass attracts even more mass. And what we will end up is a kind of black hole in which everything is collapsing into the same place.
Without effective regulation, one day, Facebook's data and Google's data will probably be combined.
BTW I am also skeptic whether some of the reported "data leaks" are not in reality covered-up data sales. As long as there are no substantial consequences, like criminal sentences, to people who do that, there are very few barriers to exploiting personal data in this way.
Because you can squeeze out more money from it that way. Having everything collapsed in one giant data collection is just the natural equilibrium state from the physics point of view.
I think this is bad. But also a general tendency: Accumulations of data are valuable to companies which exploit them. Larger accumulations of data are even more valuable, in a non-linear way. This is because data sets are multi-dimensional, and the more dimensions you have, the more information you can get out of it, even if the users initially have never thought about that. So, if you have two large accumulations of data, and you join them, you get extra value.
Google is doing this aggregation as well, as mentioned in its terms of service.
You also see that in they way Microsoft is trying to link business and personal accounts via Lynx and so on. You also see that with platforms like LinkedIn (which was bought by Microsoft).
In other words, it works a bit like gravity. Mass attracts other masses and more mass attracts even more mass. And what we will end up is a kind of black hole in which everything is collapsing into the same place.
Without effective regulation, one day, Facebook's data and Google's data will probably be combined.
BTW I am also skeptic whether some of the reported "data leaks" are not in reality covered-up data sales. As long as there are no substantial consequences, like criminal sentences, to people who do that, there are very few barriers to exploiting personal data in this way.