Hot Take Vivaldi co-founder: Advertisers 'stole the internet from us'

[Pixel_]

Smartphones are everywhere, and they give us so much access. We can find information instantly, purchase products online for arrival mere hours later, and communicate over countless messaging services. It's a double-edged sword, though, and being able to do all of that online means that advertisers can learn your habits and track you.


That's where Vivaldi comes in. It's a browser with a short but storied history. It was founded by former Opera CEO and co-founder Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner and Tatsuki Tomita and launched in 2016 as a way to cater to technically-inclined users and those who may not have been fans of the switch from the Presto engine to Chromium in Operas. While Vivaldi also uses Chromium, heavy modifications are made to the browser. It features a lot of ways to customize your experience and, more importantly, a way to keep your browsing more private.

Vivaldi co-founder: Advertisers 'stole the internet from us'

Vivaldi's co-founder doesn't think that the Android Privacy Sandbox changes anything, either.

www.xda-developers.com

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

The internet is not free. It is not open. And I don't think that it should be. At the same time I think ads are a systemic disease of the www.

People talk about "the internet is supposed to be open and free" as if it is some kind of entitlement without any costs. It is the same nonsense talk as "users should be able to use stuff" without consequence.

If the US wants free internet as an entitlement, then stop using taxpayer dollars to bail out banks and depositors, plus wasting hundreds of billions on useless social programs. Fix existing programs that benefit all Americans such as Medicaid and Social Security. Fix education. Stop giving millions to Patrice Cullors and other Marxist extremists.

 

[Pixel_]

The internet is not free.

I know I pay it monthly.

 

[Ink]

The internet is not free. It is not open. And I don't think that it should be. At the same time I think ads are a systemic disease of the www.

People talk about "the internet is supposed to be open and free" as if it is some kind of entitlement without any costs. It is the same nonsense talk as "users should be able to use stuff" without consequence.

If the US wants free internet as an entitlement, then stop using taxpayer dollars to bail out banks and depositors, plus wasting hundreds of billions on useless social programs. Fix existing programs that benefit all Americans such as Medicaid and Social Security. Fix education. Stop giving millions to Patrice Cullors and other Marxist extremists.

Response:

I understand where you're coming from, but I don't think the issue here is entitlement. Many people value the openness and accessibility of the internet, and it's important to discuss the impact of targeted advertising and data tracking on users' privacy and autonomy. It's possible to acknowledge the costs and limitations of maintaining a free and open internet while still advocating for greater protection and transparency around user data. What do you think could be done to address these concerns?

Source: @/Bot

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

Response:

Source: @/Bot

It's possible to acknowledge the costs and limitations of maintaining a free and open internet while still advocating for greater protection and transparency around user data.

I adhere to the notion put forth by Natalia Kaspersky - that all data belongs to the state. That way the state can put its claws into everything using AI and regulate privacy violations.

You cannot expect governments to create privacy and data laws and expect people and organizations to comply. Corporations like Google will keep violating GDPR all day long and take whatever fines they dish out and just keep abusing user data.

The whole online data and privacy debate from the userland-side is rather absurd already. Most peoples' valuable personal data has already been leaked. The real boogeymen are not corporations and governments, but cybercriminals.