Tag Archives: Advertising
Is Your Set-Top Box Telling Advertisers What You Watch?
by David Lazarus, Los Angeles Times
“They’re hiding the ball,” said Dallas Harris, a policy fellow with the advocacy group Public Knowledge who co-wrote the complaints [to the FCC and FTC]. “They say in their privacy policies that they may collect data on you and they may use it for marketing. They know that’s what they’re doing. So there’s a big disconnect between what they say and what’s actually happening.” Read More ›
Key To Opting Out Of Personalized Ads, Hidden In Plain View
by Alina Tugend, New York Times
Opting out does not necessarily stop companies from tracking users’ information, but it does stop them from targeting those users with what are known as interest-based ads. … If users want to get rid of these targeted ads, they can click on the triangle — its size is small so that it does not use up too much valuable ad real estate — and will then be taken to a page from the advertising network that [a business] paid to place the ad. This page explains what AdChoices does and how to opt out of targeted ads. There is also a page that tells users how many advertising networks are following them …. Read More ›
Why You Shouldn’t Get a Reverse Mortgage Just Because Fred Thompson Tells You to
by Ashlee Kieler, Consumerist
Reverse mortgages have been found to leave families with debts they can never repay, four-in-five payday loans are made to consumers already caught in the debt trap, and on average 54% of students who attend a for-profit college leave without a degree — with one-in-five of those students defaulting on their loans. … Consumers Union, along with California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform provided comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding consumers’ use of reverse mortgages. Read More ›