Data Broker Brags About Having Highly Detailed Personal Information on Nearly All Internet Users (gizmodo.com)
from Showroom7561@lemmy.ca to privacy@lemmy.ml on 17 Mar 2025 20:34
https://lemmy.ca/post/40848536

#privacy

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Morys@lemmy.ml on 17 Mar 2025 20:49 next collapse

Love how the article wants to share your info with 213 partners

adespoton@lemmy.ca on 17 Mar 2025 20:57 next collapse

How would they know how many Internet users they have no information on?

sittinonatoilet@sopuli.xyz on 17 Mar 2025 21:20 next collapse

They make a list of all internet users and then circle the ones they don’t have info on.

Duamerthrax@lemmy.world on 18 Mar 2025 06:19 collapse

How would they know any of it is accurate?

Doesn’t matter. Advertisement has never been about truth.

adespoton@lemmy.ca on 18 Mar 2025 06:23 collapse

Actually, this raises more questions. If ZoomInfo is anything to go by, I’m about 5 different people, none of which accurately map to the real me.

And that’s just me; there’s millions of bots and dogs on the Internet.

Duamerthrax@lemmy.world on 18 Mar 2025 17:20 collapse

I think the scariest thing going forward isn’t some alphabet agency finding your anti-social messages. It’s some shitbox algorithm having a false positive and deicing you’re a threat to the regime.

HappyFrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 17 Mar 2025 21:01 next collapse

I would love to read my own folder. I wonder if I have a unique folder for each of my online personas, or if they’ve managed to consolidate all into one.

Showroom7561@lemmy.ca on 17 Mar 2025 21:34 collapse

if they’ve managed to consolidate all into one.

This.

We may feel safer with multiple aliases, email addresses, using different browsers, etc. but it’s not hard for them to combine data and know exactly what profile belongs to whom.

Not that we shouldn’t try, but it’s far more difficult for the average user to evade data collection than someone who is online for a very specific purpose (and is covering their tracks with every interaction).

KillerTofu@lemmy.world on 17 Mar 2025 22:39 collapse

adnauseam.io help flood the data collection with bad data

Flagstaff@programming.dev on 17 Mar 2025 23:04 next collapse

Fascinating, thanks. This is like the ad-focused counterpart to that one AI image generation-harming tool, Nightshade.

d3lta19@lemmy.ca on 18 Mar 2025 01:57 next collapse

This is awesome. How have I never heard of this

KillerTofu@lemmy.world on 18 Mar 2025 02:23 collapse

Welcome Mr 10,000

xkcd.com/1053/

lattrommi@lemmy.ml on 18 Mar 2025 05:59 next collapse

Happy to see this. I had a similar idea once. About every 6 months I spend a day searching a few search engines for my name. My name is fairly unique. At least one person shares my first and last name. I have seen them appear in results, listed with criminal charges that were mine. The ones that show up, I look for ‘remove my data and do not sell my information’ instructions. If they are not there, I look for a contact page and e-mail them. in the email i include:

  • links with my data i want removed

  • links with my data misrepresenting other people, also with a request to remove

companies that blatently disregard me or remove my data but return it later, by accident or not, after some time has passed, will also get requests to remove:

  • arbitrary links to random people which have nothing to do with me but might be confused thanks to enough similarities.

  • many of the same requests, from several different e-mails, basically spamming them.

the idea, which is probably pointless, is to taint the data on the sites that don’t comply. i also assume the companies that return my info later, are tagging all removal requests together, because why would i want to remove the data of a completely unrelated stranger? i’m wishfully thinking they end up with bad data that damages their reputation. i call it ‘fauxkakke’ aka 'fake bukakke.

the template:

I understand this information is gathered from public sources and can still be found through other data brokers. I still wish for the linked profiles to be removed from your site. {links} If you claim that I have to pay a fee to remove my personal information from your website, I will file complaints at the following sites: consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us/requests/ www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/…/get-started www.reddit.com This is not meant to be threatening. I have no ill feelings towards your company. I also am sending e-mails to other data brokers. I am merely exercising my right to privacy.

Gonzako@lemmy.world on 18 Mar 2025 12:35 next collapse

sadly I didn’t manage to actually get it working on my setups

fmstrat@lemmy.nowsci.com on 21 Mar 2025 13:21 collapse

Says it’s FOSS. No source link on site. No source link on add-on page. I am skeptical.

Edit: I have located github.com/dhowe/AdNauseam, but still curious about the obfuscation.

quickenparalysespunk@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 17 Mar 2025 21:40 next collapse

hang them by the toes! no mercy for surveillance capitalists!

Flagstaff@programming.dev on 17 Mar 2025 23:02 collapse

no mercy for surveillance capitalists!

There, all fixed now.

NotProLemmy@lemmy.ml on 23 Mar 2025 16:14 collapse

Dont hang them by the toes, just burn them alive while they are shot left and right with everything they like & love being erased in front of them.

Sinirlan@lemmy.world on 17 Mar 2025 22:20 next collapse

I’m waiting for news in couple of days where the same guy finds out that internet knows quite a lot about him too…

Showroom7561@lemmy.ca on 17 Mar 2025 22:25 collapse

OPT OUT. OPT OUT! lol

RvTV95XBeo@sh.itjust.works on 17 Mar 2025 22:31 next collapse

Anyone know the path to hitting them with CCPA info/take down requests?

Jsilverhand69@lemm.ee on 18 Mar 2025 12:28 collapse

Generally you can google the site name and then “removal request” and their portal will be visible.

Some more useful info: California maintains a list of data brokers, available Here

Also, paid services will scan these lists and initiate takedown requests on your behalf automatically. I’ve found optery to be good but there are other services as well

LiveLM@lemmy.zip on 17 Mar 2025 23:07 next collapse

Then somebody goes and Mario Bro’s this motherfucker and out come the bootlickers going “oh but he didn’t deserve it!!!” 🤬

[deleted] on 18 Mar 2025 10:44 collapse

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