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Ask HN: Why aren't Gov's doing anything about Facebook, Google etc?

2 pointsby muse900almost 8 years ago
Is there any specific reason?<p>I mean I understand that I sign up with a service and agree that they can use data to advertise on me... but they go into the extend of monitoring my private messages and present me with stuff that I&#x27;ve confidentially shared with another person or a group but not with them.<p>Is there nothing we can do as a whole to force GOV&#x27;s to regulate those companies when it comes to advertisement?

3 comments

j3nnif3rfualmost 8 years ago
Not directly related to private messages monitoring and advertisement, but leaders like Angela Merkel have said that the Internet is not &quot;a space that is free from the law.&quot; She was mostly referring to legislations that would combat fake news and hate speech on Facebook ( <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;fortune.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;01&#x2F;17&#x2F;facebook-germany&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;fortune.com&#x2F;2017&#x2F;01&#x2F;17&#x2F;facebook-germany&#x2F;</a>).<p>If such regulations can be made, I&#x27;m sure if there&#x27;s enough push, governments would (hopefully) regulate social media advertisement to a certain degree? With that said, there&#x27;s so much money involved in that I highly doubt that governments can do much or would do much about it...
vincpaalmost 8 years ago
Here&#x27;s the thing. You agree to let those companies do that. They provide you with a service, and in exchange they collect data about you. That&#x27;s the trade you&#x27;re making. Without that data, they can&#x27;t make any money as they rely heavily on advertising.
laxentaskenalmost 8 years ago
&quot;When the service is free, you are the product&quot; or something similar.