Everyone who has gone on to the internet has probably heard the whole “Your data is being sold and they are selling it all for targeted ads.” But do you know what it is? Well, this should answer most questions about the base legal aspect of data selling and what these people do and accomplish when they get a hold of peoples data. But California’s new ¨Delete act¨ plans to inform users and prevent data siphoning.
Data selling is a consent-based business but the transparency of the business is a murky one with privacy terms not being read by the users or the companies forcing the cookies and data selling onto the consumers. But the legal aspect of it is “A gray area there isn’t enough privacy laws in place to cover a lot of users and the illegal to legal line is blurry” said Mike Cramer a 14-year running tech teacher. But with a new California tech act coming, companies would have to display a “Do not sell my personal data” button on their site with clear and easy access for consumers to change the access companies have on their data.
They do not always sell the data that they collect. In a lot of cases, the companies just keep it for personal use and use it to have targeted ads and force more personalized stuff for the users. They also transfer the data to another app or website that the company owns to make use of the data and give the user a more clean experience. Selling the data isn’t fully told to the user as in Google searches, social media posts or inquiries. These are also monitored and sold to third parties as a way to give you more personalized ads and searches.
But this new act will affect data selling and all of the shady privacy laws on the internet. This is also a bad sign for many parenting companies. A main portion of the money is through advertisements, they also buy a lot of data from others so they can track the data of their users on other websites.
The way the companies get this data is a breach of privacy in a lot of cases but the terms they set up and what they are allowed are barely read or stated often times. The ability to block all of the data selling and protect yourself is a huge change for a lot of companies. The new Delete act that California is trying to pass plans to implement this feature to inform users and give the ability to block all data collection and tracking giving users more power in their hands. The result of this new act in California could cause a lot of problems for businesses and much more conflict in legal aspects.
On the flip side, some users may see this as a plus. People get ads that match and fit them. So would some people think data selling is helping in some way with personalizing ads? “It’s useful to some low point but the invasion needed for this to take place is not worth it” said Cramer. Some business are fighting back on the privilege to give consumers more control on their data.
To some companies, this is a billion-dollar business, and losing the ability to siphon data without you knowing and giving users the ability to stop the data collection is a big risk for companies. But the biggest point of it is the moral aspect for most consumers and this is a huge objective. A lot of consumers want more control over their tracking history.
This could be advertised as a motive or an incentive as a point of interest for the consumers if they are in the know about what is sold. This can help them provide a better experience on the internet and keep a lot of personal info safe instead of being sold to others and having the potential of being hacked or misused. So this act could change the ways we see data tracking and selling for all and the most consumers can do is stay informed so they can act when possible.
