Facebook has long been known to greedily gather user data. But how open are we in reality? According to a survey, Facebook is the source of more than half of all page views.
According to a German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) study, Facebook can comprehend up to 52% of all websites that people visit online. This operates through built-in trackers in website-integrated Like, Share, and Login buttons. Worryingly, judgments about Internet users who are not connected into Facebook can also be made using the data gathered.
Over 50% of Internet traffic can be tracked.
In order to conduct the study, the economists assessed the user information of 5,000 users and determined what information Facebook could potentially store. As a result, Facebook was able to identify 52 percent of the websites visited and 40 percent of the time spent online. The report, however, offers no information regarding the specific data that Facebook actually records.
Research associate of the institute Hannes Ulrich explains:
“Because companies don’t provide much information about what algorithms they use, no one can say for sure what data is actually being stored and used. But our research shows that the technical basis for monitoring a large part of Internet activity is platforms available.”
Theoretically, conclusions about website visitors who are not enrolled with the platform may also be made since Facebook could correlate the acquired data with the stored user data. Because Facebook may construct consumer profiles that include demographic details based on the Facebook users that visit particular websites. for instance, the predominant gender or age group. These profiles can then be used to deliver personalized advertising to other website visitors.
European legislation is criticized by an institute
The legal landscape as it stands at the moment is insufficient for the study’s authors. Internet users have had the ability to object to the use of trackers and the storing of user data in cookies since since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was introduced, but this option is currently underutilized.
The European Commission is presently planning new rules that would amend the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, which might result in harsher penalties for infringement of data privacy laws. However, the supervisory authorities must have enough staff in order for the requirements to be followed.
the opinion of Ulrich.
ways to safeguard your data
It’s becoming more difficult to maintain control over your personal data online. Objecting to the storage of cookies on websites is the first step. The ability to mask your own IP address is very useful. VPN services can help with this; one such service is Surfshark VPN.
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