this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2023
33 points (97.1% liked)

Privacy

31170 readers
295 users here now

A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

In this community everyone is welcome to post links and discuss topics related to privacy.

Some Rules

Related communities

Chat rooms

much thanks to @gary_host_laptop for the logo design :)

founded 4 years ago
MODERATORS
 

An interesting tidbit from Mozilla's latest privacy release (https://www.ghacks.net/2023/11/21/firefox-120-ships-today-with-massive-privacy-improvements/):

The first introduces support for the Global Privacy Control in Settings. The privacy feature informs websites that you visit that you don't want your data sold or shared. It is legally binding in some states in the United States, including in California and Colorado.

What's to stop users from utilizing a VPN exit point in California or Colorado to force the binding nature of the request?

all 11 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] mypasswordis1234 17 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Do you seriously think these data hungry companies will care about your IP location and won't fingerprint you? I doubt it.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

Not all, but some will and that's good enough. Security and privacy is all about layers, not guaranteed solutions.

That said, if you have "business" with a company, they are probably using your registered home address to understand how to deal with your local laws/regulations. e.g. If you're using a registered google account and don't have an address in a state that offers protection, its very unlikely they'll extend any privacy policies to you just because your IP says you're in California, for example.

OTOH, if you don't have a registered address/account/profile and your IP is coming out of California, its possible some companies will apply stricter policies based on your preference.

To your original point though, yes, shady companies will continue to behave in unethical ways.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (1 children)

@mypasswordis1234 @fmstrat It is possible to beat fingerprinting with a vpn + delete all cookies + turn resist fingerprinting to true in about:config of Firefox.

[–] mypasswordis1234 6 points 9 months ago

The post is about saying "No, I do not want to be fingerprinted", not "Here are my faked attributes that change every time I visit you". What's the point of sending a DNT header if companies don't care and just do what they do?

[–] IphtashuFitz 10 points 9 months ago (2 children)

If you’re going to attempt this sort of thing then why go through CA or CO? Why not go through a GDPR country directly?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 9 months ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

I should also add, this would require you to use a GDPR respecting instance. There's a reason places like Amazon have amazon.com and amazon.co.uk, etc. That's not tenable for me, or most users.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

What's special about Colorado?