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Content Type: Explainer
Monday, August 5, 2019
Recently the role of social media and search platforms in political campaigning and elections has come under scrutiny. Concerns range from the spread of disinformation, to profiling of users without their knowledge, to micro-targeting of users with tailored messages, to interference by foreign entities, and more. Significant attention has been paid to the transparency of political ads - what are companies doing to provide their users globally with meaningful transparency into how they're being…
Content Type: Video
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
In recent years, the use of online political campaigning has gained significant traction, with regulatory bodies often struggling to catch up. The unregulated use of political ads can pose threats to transparency, and all the more so when online platforms fail to play their part.
We at PI, together with InternetLab, are investigating the reach, effectiveness and impact of regulation by social media platforms and electoral authorities on online political advertising. Our research has shown…
Content Type: Video
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
The incorporation of new technologies to electoral processes is a phenomenon with a global and exponential growth. Despite its benefits, online campaigning is not without challenges, and can pose threats to transparency and equity in electoral competition. Given the role of elections as foundational pillars of the democratic system and a key gateway for the exercise of fundamental civil rights, these implications must be assessed with care and through specific tools.
We at PI, together…
Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
Uber appears to offer few options to limit data collection and it’s unclear how the data the company has about users is shared with third parties including advertisers, although there have been numerous reports about Uber’s data sharing activities. These screenshots show a few things you can do.
It’s tough to minimise targeted ads on phones because ads can be delivered based on data from the device level (such as what operating system your phone is using or based on unique numbers that…
Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
Twitter plays an increasingly important role as a space facilitating democratic engagement, debate and dissent. However, Twitter's track record in relation to protecting people's data has in some instances fallen short of expectations. In August 2019, for example, Twitter revealed that it had shared with advertisers the data of users who had opted-out of personalised ads. More recently, Twitter admitted that data which had been given by users for safety security purposes had been "inadvertently…
Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
Google dominates online search. The company also owns YouTube and Android, with the latter reportedly making up nearly 75% of the global smart phone market share. PI has written about the numerous problems that come from corporate concentration and the use of data by monopolistic companies, and there are numerous examples of Google's failure to protect its users.
Below is a set of steps you can take if you wish to minimise ad targeting when using Google.
1. Go to gmail.com and sign in
Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
The screenshots below outline some steps you can take to minimise the data you share on WhatsApp. The company announced changes to group privacy (details here) but we are not currently (as of 14/05/19) able to see these changes (PI is UK-based).
It’s tough to minimise targeted ads on phones because ads can be delivered based on data from the device level (such as what operating system your phone is using or based on unique numbers that identify your phone), browser level (what you search for…
Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
TikTok is a short-form video app (owned by ByteDance) which allows advertising and sponsored content. Two thirds of TikTok’s over 113 million users (are reportedly aged 16-24) and it was the second most downloaded app in 2019, beaten only by WhatsApp’s 849 million). Like other tech platforms, ByteDance makes most of its money from advertising. TikTok allows advertisers to target ads on the basis of custom or lookalike audiences, namely targeting users on the basis of pre-defined characteristics…
Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
While Telegram says in its privacy policy that the company doesn’t “use your data for ad targeting or other commercial purposes”, the company says that “no third party bot developers are affiliated with Telegram” and that developers “should ask [users] for [their] permission before they access [their] data or [users] make it available to them. It’s unclear what oversight Telegram provides over how these developers use the platform to communicate with users. The screenshots below outline some…
Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
It’s tough to minimise targeted ads on phones because ads can be delivered based on data from the device level (such as what operating system your phone is using or based on unique numbers that identify your phone), browser level (what you search for within a browser), and within the apps you use. An app could target ads at you based on your location (tied to your unique device id number(s)) for example. Apps, including Instagram, direct you to opt-out of targeted ads at the device level.
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Content Type: Guide step
Friday, May 1, 2020
Facebook has been in the news over the past few years for failing to protect users’ data (here are some examples). Facebook can be an important tool in facilitating democracy and provides the potential to spread messages and ideas around the globe. For these reasons, it’s not possible for some people to simply stop using Facebook. However, the company continues to struggle to prove itself worthy of our trust and capable of complying modern privacy laws and expectations.
1. Go to facebook.com…