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Manila Bulletin devider Technews devider Major Philippine News Sites Track You

Major Philippine News Sites Track You

Published Jan 8, 2020 12:00 am
Just before Christmas, the New York Times published “Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy”. It is a horrifying revelation for those who are still not aware of how much we are being surveilled for profit. I recommend that you take a few minutes to read it — but be aware that the New York Times has embedded trackers that contribute back to these surveillance companies. I remember writing about several major Philippine news sites that have embedded trackers a few months ago, so I revisited them again. Lo and behold, they all still have embedded trackers! Manila Bulletin (yes! this one, too!), Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Manila Times, Business World, Business Mirror, GMA News, ABS-CBN News, Interaksyon, and Rappler. Even the Philippine government’s news agency, the Philippine News Agency contributes your data to these surveillance companies. You can’t find a single Philippine news site that protects your online privacy — and this is so sad. Whilst you may think that this is no big deal (it is!), think of how your data will affect your family, most specially the children who will be facing an unknown future (we don’t know how and when their data will be used against them). If you don’t really care, at least give the children a chance (stop being that parent who posts about their children, aka “sharent”), and let them control who they want to share their data with. It is time to fight back against the surveillance companies. Yes, it is not impossible, it just takes some effort, until they are regulated by governments where they are domiciled. The Philippine Data Privacy Act actually shows promise, if only the government agency has the resources to go after these companies (in other words, good luck!). It is time to take things into your own hands and protect yourself (and your family) from contributing more of your data to these companies. The easiest first step is to install a browser plug-in such as uBlock Origin for Firefox, or Better Blocker for Safari (and yes, avoid Chrome at all cost — it is one big tracker!). These only work on your browser, unfortunately. If you want to do more, there are other ways, e.g., using a reputable VPN service (I use several, but Windscribe is a popular one) is one, and deploying your own Pi-hole at home, are some examples. Whatever works for you and your family, of course. Remember, your personal information is what makes you you!
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