I must have
the people over at Google thoroughly confused. They now think that I am an
impoverished-but-wealthy black, gay, Jewish female who is into cooking and who
races Formula I cars in France on the weekends. I'll get to why they think this
in a moment. (This is assuming that there are
people at Google, and that these days it's not simply a pulsating, gelatinous
glob of algorithmically driven hive-mind protoplasm. Although that would be
very cool too, and would make an awesome B movie. It's too bad that Tab Hunter
is dead.)


But we have very
little control (read: almost no control)
over how that data is used. The real issue with dataveillance, as Cornell
University's Helen Nissenbaum has noted, is that it often constitutes a
violation of what she calls "contextual integrity." We give someone
certain information with a particular understanding of the context in which
that information is to be used. I don't mind giving my doctor very private
information about myself and my (growing number of) physical ailments. But I
would mind very much if she were to share that information with a drug rep or
insurance salesman. I explicitly give The Goog data about my travels on the
Web, but I did not (knowingly and
willingly) give The Goog permission to mine that data, manipulate it, compare
it to my friends' data, and then sell it to people who will further refine it
and who may then turn around and resell
it or combine it with other datasets, the existence of which I am unaware. (If
you're dying to read more about Dr. Nissenbaum's work, I interviewed her for my
book, which—not at all coincidentally—is available here.)
Of course, The Goog
pretends that this is all harmless and that its data collection is benign,
incidental, and in fact helpful.
Except that they're
not even pretending anymore. You may have encountered a Google program called
Google Opinion Rewards. If you sign up, The Goog will pay you to fill out "opinion surveys." For each brief
survey, Google will add from 10 to 30 cents or so to your Google Play account;
you can then turn around and use that money to buy books, music, apps, etc. on
the Google Play store.
But these surveys
rarely actually ask your opinion about
something. By and large, The Goog doesn't want to know what you think; it wants
to know what you are. How much money you
make. Whether you rent or own. What sort of car you drive, and if you're likely
to be in the market for a new one soon. Here are some sample survey questions:
- What is the likelihood that you will get a flu shot this year?
- Did anyone in your household get food stamps . . . In 2017?
- What is the combined income of all members of your family in 2017?
- Are you covered by any kind of insurance or health plan . . . ?
- What medical condition or concern are you most embarrassed to ask your doctor about?
- Which [of the following categories] best describes your political views?
These are sent to
you with the disclaimer that they will be used "to show you more relevant
advertising" or to "improve Google products." (Which is more
than a little ironic, given that, in the end, you
are the product.)
