Telecom giant Vodafone is testing a new way to track people's online activity and, as usual these days, some people really don't like the words "tracking" and "online" being put together. the same sentence.
The operator is currently testing an advertising ID system called TrustPid, which works by creating a fixed ID for each customer at the Internet Service Provider (ISP) level and then associating all user activity with that ID.
The profile, which will be formed with the input of various parameters, will be used for the delivery of targeted and personalized advertisements. The company claims that there is no way to bypass the system at the browser level, blocking cookies or hiding the IP address.
free internet means ads
For Vodafone, the calculation is simple: for the Internet to remain free, users must remain the product:
"Consumers like the idea of a 'free' internet, but it comes with a trade-off: Publishers need a sustainable revenue model, which means adding paywalls becomes essential. If you don't subscribe or rely on advertising to maintain free access to high-quality content”, says the official website of TrustPid.
As usual, when it comes to tracking, the idea of privacy comes up. Vodafone says that TrustPid will assign each user "random numbers" to reduce the risk of direct identification of individuals. For some, however, these guarantees are insufficient.
Speaking to BleepingComputer, Patrick Breyer, a member of the European Parliament and digital rights activist, said that tracking people online makes them susceptible to manipulation and such practices should be stopped as soon as they are created.
“These personality profiles, which even cover political opinions, sexual orientation or medical conditions, represent a risk to privacy but also to national security, where officials can be blackmailed, and also to democracy, where elections and referendums they can be manipulated. A unique identifier would control our entire digital life. These tactics are totally unacceptable and the trials must stop. Democracy is not for sale.
The trial is taking place in Germany, with Bild.de being one of the sites participating in the pilot, and could be rolled out to other territories soon.
Via: BleepingComputer (Opens in a new tab)