Google playing both cop and criminal :-P

"Gotta ban all ads that is not ours" - Google

An ad blocker baked right into chrome? That's awesome!

@AlexDeLarge That's a pretty close minded way of looking at it.
I really doubt that will happen.

@Froot @AlexDeLarge It will block ads which aren't following the standards approved by worlds biggest advertisement 'watchdog/associatiob' of which Google is one of the biggest members itself.

The problem indeed is that they can pretty much decide what users will see with this, possibly dominating other players away.

Another thing is that this one doesn't block tracking which is known to be done by adblockers. This gives it a bad twist imo.

Good thing is, though, that new European laws will go into effect in April which say the following:
A company is only allowed to collect data when/if:
- it's legally required to do so (by law)
- it's absolutely necessary for the service to work
- users are made fully aware of which data is collected and for what purpose and should have a clear choice whether to say yes or no. A company isn't allowed to block users out of services if they don't agree to certain types of data collection.
- any data which could lead to identifying an individual isn't allowed to be sold (even in the form of profiles) without highly explicit consent. It also may not leave the EU. This also accounts for location data, ip addresses, user agent fingerprinting and so on.

Violations can go (per happening) up to 100 million euro.

Google and Facebook are about to have a lot less earnings from EU people!

And then there are people like me using uMatrix bypassing this entire problem.

@linuxxx pff, like their lawyers don't find a way around that. Otherwise google will just build these into wall of texts shown like when you use Google in a fresh browser

@Kimmax Not saying they won't but at least we've got laws supporting Europeans' privacy when it comes to the point.

Yesterday a Belgian judge ruled that Facebook isn't allowed to track users outside of Facebook, it's the tiny steps!

@linuxxx well... Google's lawyers will argue that it is absolutely necessary for Google to collect data otherwise they would not be able to make profit so there goes that :S

@D3add3d And that's the exact reason why I fully block Google :)

google add blocker that doesn't block google ads is pointless because most ads are google ads. I'll stick to firefox and ublock thanks.

It is like a pedophile would start a kindergarten.

I see @Floydian in this pic

@linuxxx is there any proof google is selling data?

@speedForce @Floydian I'm assuming this is a funny reference to his avatar?

@AlexDeLarge Well what you're suggesting is that Google will instantly exploit this and put itself in a monopolistic position. Well, thats what the antitrust laws are for.

Also, saying "it's Google afterall" doesn't mean anything.

@linuxxx Well I hope those laws won't degrade the service quality we get from Google.

Also, I just can't understand how one can cheer when the government moves in to ban and regulate yet another thing. That's a pretty socialist mindset.
How I see it, the government should regulate as little as it can and let people do their thing in peace.

@sSam Literally read their TOS. It's their business model, nothing secret about it!

@Froot There have been numerous court cases about googles possible monopolistic abuse and at least with a few cases, Google lost and had to pay a few million to a few billion for abusing their position for which they were found 'guilty'

@sSam it's not just selling them but collecting them in the first place. It's like your mother watching over your shoulder while you look for porn. Another big issue is the way it can manipulate your opinion by showing you things that are likely to be of interest to you.

@Froot As for the personal data gathering and storage which will only be allowed within the EU, one of the arguments was the prism program. The EU said that since trump wiped the privacy agreement, then they'd have to protect Europeans from the US mass surveillance in another way, through European laws.

it's regulating in a way which makes sure that the users have the decision of what data they share instead of the companies making that decision. Companies can still collect whatever they want if/when the user gives permission which I find quite fair.

The point is that the user get the control over their data back.

@Froot Socialism itself isn't bad. The same way capitalism itself isn't bad either. It's just how capitalism weighs the interests of those in a higher social position more important than that of people in a lower position.
So it's probably not the best idea to use "socialist" as an insult, it's like saying "I think mine is better and everything you say is wrong because mine is better"

@linuxxx About the court cases. Alright, so the system works. They were found guilty, were charged and payed up. Where's the problem here?

So what exactly is the issue here? Chrome will block ads which are universally agreed as annoying. Mobile "optimized" websites are the worst offenders and it's about time Google started doing something about it, especially in Chrome for Android.

Is it a bit sketchy that Google is the largest member of the association that decides which types of ads are allowed? Sure. But it's still a step in the right direction. I'm tired of the shitty mobile experience we get with in your face full screen ads.

Don't want to use Chrome? Then don't use it. Stop being so delusional about it. The fact remains that most websites will stop pushing these annoying ads as a result, whether you use Chrome or not, which is a good thing.

Advertisers simply need to respect simple guidelines, which are completely fair IMO.

@linuxxx As for the laws. I get that, but that's yet another layer of regulation layed over EU. Why do you think all these tech giants are from USA? EU overregulation is one of the reasons.

@poldi1405 I disagree. Giving my free will over to the state so it can decide what's best for me on my behalf, aka socialism, is bad. Socialism is good if your a lazy slob and want other people to pick up your tab. But if you're a hard working person that wants to make something of himself then socialism is absolute cancer.

@Froot There's no problem here haha, it's good that their monopoly abuse is getting punished :)

But yeah imagine it like this, when Google wants to collect location data and your UP address for selling it/advertising purposes, they'll have to show a popup or something explaining why they want to collect it,and who'll get access to that data. Then the user can agree or not, simple as that.

@Floydian Oh you hate capitalism? So you prefer what? Communism? Feudalism?

Also, calm down with your Rothschilds and Illuminati bullshit.

@Froot What you just described is not socialism. Not even close...

@Froot you just seem to ignore that there are members of society who can't work hard/at all. People with certain disabilities, old people, children, people unsuitable for some jobs... These people would go down in pure capitalism. You might say "what do I care? I can work hard" but some day you'll be old or have a friend unable of working and then you probably wish for some governmental support and control.

@NGPixel Please, describe socialism as you see it then.

@Floydian It's very easy to retain control over your data, for example, by encrypting it locally and only uploading it encrypted.

Those programs will never stop indeed but by encrypting (nearly) everything, they'll become (as for content) pretty useless.

When for example doctors store information after April and they used Google drive for this before, they'll be forced to use local providers, forcing the data to stay inside the EU :)

@poldi1405 Firstly, you should save up for your own retirement. The fact that the government provides you retirement benefits is not free, it's still your money, it's just taken from you by force and ran though the hugely inefficient government apparatus.

Second, if I get a sick friend I'll care for him, absolutely. Because it's my friend. Currently I'm caring for any dip shit injecting fentanyl into their body wether I want it or not.

Socialism isn't free stuff like some people make it up to be. Socialism is shit quality stuff for a high price that you are forced to pay wether you want the product or not.

@Floydian I think we did. I just can't remember the outcome 😄

@Floydian what's a layman?

And its up to the companies which are screaming that they don't have enough time to comply while they've nearly had 4 years now :)

@Floydian Oh right. Well when you'd enter an application/service/page and they want to collect shit, they have to tell what they want yo collect, for what purpose and who'll get access to the data. Then you can click yes or no or something like that :)

@Floydian True! But at least users get a clear choice. If you go for the yes option, fair enough!

@Floydian This doesn't go for device permissions though, solely for data collection.

If you'd do a video call through hangouts then they'll have to display what they're using the data for and if you agree then that's fine

@Floydian It's not rocket science or anything, companies just have to be clear about what they collect and give the user a choice, that's it!

@Floydian Only Google and other big companies have huge not so easy to understand tos's and privacy policies and the new laws say that they should be short and human readable xD

@Froot You're mixing up communism and socialism.

Socialism simply means that basic human rights should be free, no matter your income. Education, Healthcare, Security, etc. should be accessible to anyone.

HOWEVER, unlike communism, you are free to get richer than X because you're more productive.

Your whole "I'll help a sick friend" argument is deeply flawed. What if you and your friends are poor. What if your child is born with a life threatening defect that can be easily corrected but costs more than what you and your friends can afford?

Basic human rights should be free or decently cheap so it's accessible to everyone. That doesn't prevent you from being productive and get rich. Socialism and capitalism ideals are not mutually exclusive.

@MojoJojo yeah 😁

@NGPixel But the thing is, nothing is free. You're still paying for all that, now you're just being forced to pay, hence your free will is taken away from you. And them being served by the government they're usually hugely inefficient since goverments don't have to deal with competition, which pushes efficiency.

So basically you get worse quality for higher cost and it's all forced onto you. That's not the world I want to live in, I want to have a choice in what services I consume and what charitable actions I perform, not have those choices forced o to me by the government.

As I said, socialism is good for lazy slobs who won't get their ducks in a row and want others to be forced to pick up their tab.

Also, what you described is not socialism, it's social democracy or something. Basically the Scandinavian model.

@AlexDeLarge Even if they do abuse it there are anti trust laws against that. We know that, they know that, everyone knows that.

How is the socialism subdebate pointless? It's off topic, sure, but pointless? And in any case it was an unrelated response, was never intended to back my arguments about Google. I'm sorry if you missed that.

Also, why's point in quotes? Was that a passive aggressive attempt? As of to imply my point was worthless?

@AlexDeLarge Well of open aggression is your way of discussing things then I don't see any reason to continuing this discussion.

And just to clarify, that socialism thing was a side note on cheering for regulation. I for one prefer markets to be as open as possible and that's why I pointed it out.

@AlexDeLarge Okay then

@Floydian you honestly didn't see that coming?

@Floydian that Google would do that, they are and always have been about data and everything they do is about that even their hardware.

People that block ads won't ever intentionally click on one, anyway. It's better for the end user. I mean, unless you like web pages that are 80% ad, 10% popups, and 10% whatthefuckyoucametothewebsitetoread.