You're not going to want to click "I Agree" anymore

[ As heard on WGIR, WQSO, and WKXL on 2021-06-28]

Privacy is gone.

We started talking this morning with Mr. Christopher Ryan, and we got into our privacy. There's a great article that I'll have this weekend in my newsletter from the Daily Mail about about this whole thing.

And it's titled "Read This and You Won't Click 'I Agree' Ever Again". So we got into that and also into this new bill here, it's called the ending platform monopoly, please act, can we split up these huge companies, these social media companies, et cetera, that are providing various platforms. Should we split them up?

[00:00:37] This is a real interesting topic and one that's going to affect every last one of us. And of course, Chris and I both had opinions.

[00:00:46] Chris Ryan: [00:00:46] I am Chris Ryan. Craig Peterson is the host tech talk on news radio six, 10 and 96. 7 Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 AM.

[00:00:54] One of the more fascinating things about the tech environment is how. Either we don't care or it's unbeknownst to us that we allow for tech companies to spy on us and to have an inner track basically to our minds and to our souls were for many years, we always wondered why other people were thinking, right?

[00:01:19] Like what does that person thinking? And there was no way to ever really. But now there are ways to know, because we look into things on Google. We look into things via searches and we like certain things. We agree on certain things. And as a result of that we at some points in time are just giving the money, the giving information to tech companies, but at other points in time, We're actually showing via social media, who we are in ways that we never would have done in the past and employers, friends, everybody get a completely different view of a person's true inner feelings and how their mind works via social media that we never had before.

[00:02:02] Craig Peterson: [00:02:02] It is potentially a huge problem. We've got these busy bodies, if you will, that are listening to basically all of the signals we're sending out. We tell them where we live. You may not have given them your address, but if you have apps on your phone that you guaranteed that smartphone now who stays in the same house every night, they know where you.

[00:02:26] They know what you're like because of what you're searching for online, the website you're going to, they know what you say with some of these devices. My son I had was over his girlfriend's house and had a conversation with her about getting a hammock in front of one of these little portals from our friends at Facebook.

[00:02:46]Immediately ad started showing up for all of us. So we're telling these tech companies, everything that we're doing, we have microphones in our rooms, our television visions, Vizio, which is one of the major manufacturers was caught watching us. Who is looking at the TV when they're looking at it so they can get better ratings.

[00:03:09] Microphones are being used. The spy agencies worldwide now have direct access to us. It's a real problem. And it's a problem for you and me, not just for someone that's a high tech. High value target. It's a problem for you and me because now all of this information is also available to the regular bad guys.

[00:03:30] That's what they're using for fishing. They're getting you to do things on marketers are getting you to do things. Obviously the PI getting all this information and showing you the right information at the right time, the bad guys are getting you to do things by clicking on it. So links going to websites that are actually going to cause you harm.

[00:03:51] And we're seeing huge increases in all of this, Chris. Right?

[00:03:56] Chris Ryan: [00:03:56] And it's the, those types of things are happening behind the scenes, but it's also a lot of the outward things. What do you post about, what do you say? How do you interact with other people? All of these types of things are accessible to the public at times, and also accessible, behind the scenes as well.

[00:04:13] And it allows for a catalog to be built on you as an individual. And we are. Insight into our inner thinkings and our process that we would never have thought about that our parents would have never thought about doing before. And as a result of that there is a lot of things that take place out in society that, may we may not understand, or we may not completely comprehend, but a lot of it has to do with.

[00:04:46] Behavior on social media and our inability to know when to say things and when not to say things, and that is a huge problem.

[00:04:56] Craig Peterson: [00:04:56] It is knowing when to shut up. It's right there in politics as well. The Obama campaign was the first to mine. Incredible amounts of data from Facebook. Incredible.

[00:05:09] Far more access than anyone had ever had before Facebook just literally gave it to them. And then you had the Trump campaign come along and the higher, the Cambridge Analytica guys who had access to much less data than the Obama campaign had. But in both cases you were saying. Ads that were so tightly targeted at people and individuals that you really were being manipulated because they know what you're saying.

[00:05:37] They know what you're doing, they know who your friends are, and they put it all together now to lead you down that Primrose path, whatever. See, that's where I really get concerned. We are absolutely being manipulated. And as you pointed out, Chris we're being manipulated voluntarily. We're telling them everything we possibly can about us when we're posting on these various sites.

[00:06:04] Chris Ryan: [00:06:04] That's a really good point. How's judiciary committee approved antitrust legislation that could prohibit platform operators like Amazon, apple, Google, and Facebook from favoring, their own products and services. And the legislation could even break up industry giants by forcing them to eliminate or sell certain divisions.

[00:06:21] I don't see any way shape or form that this becomes law. That being said there is a public desire. For law to come to fruition that creates a more even playing field breaks up big tech breaks up these corporate giants and creates an environment where there is more shared prosperity. And. I'm curious as to what your thoughts are on this and what direction this goes and does do these companies need to be broken up in your view, a and B given how tightly they're able to control political figures via donations and power and things of that nature.

[00:07:06] Is there any way that these big tech companies get back?

[00:07:10]Craig Peterson: [00:07:10] It's a great question. And I would love to say that let the marketplace take care of it, but these companies are so incredibly profitable. The odds of them going under are very slim. Look at how long now we've had Facebook and Google out there.

[00:07:27] I'm sure their predecessors died. Their predecessors, trying to have went that way. My space out, et cetera. But these people have had so much control, so much money, so much profit that the opposite they are going to be corrected by the marketplace are slim. Because part of the problem, Chris, with these huge guys is they keep everybody else out of the market.

[00:07:52] Get Instagram, a company that was worth maybe $50 million. Facebook has been out there paying a billion dollars to buy their perspective competition. And they've done it multiple times. Google has done it multiple times. We're talking about a hundred times what the company is worth, just so they don't have to face competition.

[00:08:16] So now that brings in this ending platform monopolies, right? That you just mentioned will that help? Yeah, but yeah, I don't know. How do you break them up? There's obvious ways you can slice them up, but is there the stomach for the federal government to get involved in this? And we're just giving it all to these companies with margins, proper margins that are insane.

[00:08:41]Chris Ryan: [00:08:41] As always.

[00:08:41] Craig, thank you so much. Appreciate your time. Hey, take care. Craig Peterson, joining us here on Hampshire day. Host of tech talk on news radio 610 and 96.7 Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30.