FCC blocks stricter broadband privacy rules from taking effect

[DonViejo]

Source: Reuters


01 MAR 2017 AT 15:58 ET

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday blocked some Obama administration rules approved last year that would have subjected broadband providers to stricter scrutiny than websites, a victory for internet providers such as AT&T Inc, Comcast Corp and Verizon Communications Inc .

The rules, which were scheduled to take effect on Thursday, aimed to protect personal consumer data. They would subject broadband internet service providers to more stringent data security requirements than websites like Facebook Inc, Twitter Inc or Alphabet Inc’s Google unit.

The decision will “provide time for the FCC to work with the (Federal Trade Commission) to create a comprehensive and consistent framework for protecting Americans’ online privacy,” the agency said in a statement.

Under the rules, internet service providers would need to obtain consumer consent before using precise geo-location, financial information, health information, children’s information and web browsing history for advertising and internal marketing. For less sensitive information such as email addresses or service tiers, consumers would be able to opt out.

Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/2017/03/fcc-blocks-stricter-broadband-privacy-rules-from-taking-effect/

[neohippie]

1. This is a very slippery slope

Here is a great example of how big data is using this information to weaponize propaganda, and how it was used in to affect the election

https://medium.com/join-scout/the-rise-of-the-weaponized-ai-propaganda-machine-86dac61668b#.ybnnwjqw9

“This network,” Albright wrote in a post exploring his findings, “is triggered on-demand to spread false, hyper-biased, and politically-loaded information.”

Even more shocking to him though was that this network of fake news creates a powerful infrastructure for companies like Cambridge Analytica to track voters and refine their personality targeting models

“I scraped the trackers on these sites and I was absolutely dumbfounded. Every time someone likes one of these posts on Facebook or visits one of these websites, the scripts are then following you around the web. And this enables data-mining and influencing companies like Cambridge Analytica to precisely target individuals, to follow them around the web, and to send them highly personalised political messages.”

The web of fake and biased news that Albright uncovered created a propaganda wave that Cambridge Analytica could ride and then amplify. The more fake news that users engage with, the more addictive Analytica’s personality engagement algorithms can become.

Voter 35423 clicked on a fake story about Hillary’s sex-trafficking ring? Let’s get her to engage with more stories about Hillary’s supposed history of murder and sex trafficking.

The synergy between fake-content networks, automated message testing, and personality profiling will rapidly spread to other digital mediums. Albright’s most-recent research focuses on an artificial intelligence that automatically creates YouTube videos about news and current events. The AI, which reacts to trending topics on Facebook and Twitter, pairs images and subtitles with a computer generated voiceover. It spooled out nearly 80,000 videos through 19 different channels in just a few days.
Given its rapid development, the technology community needs to anticipate how AI propaganda will soon be used for emotional manipulation in mobile messaging, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

[JudyM]

2. Whew. Descent into a web of increasingly effective manipulation, beyond our ability to discern.

What will become of us...

[Ligyron]

3. Thank you for your efforts to publicize this subject.

Read you OP concerning Robert Mercer the other day - the man behind Trump, Breitbart and Brexit, among other RW machinations.

If their AI proves as successful as their manipulations in the stock market we have a serious problem and sunlight is the only way to disinfect such viruses. The more people realize this is being done, hopefully the less effective it will prove to be long term.

We shall see.

[mdbl]

4. Only if you can get Fux nooze to parrot some of it

otherwise, the idiocracy remains ignorant.