Policies

In this section of many websites, companies tell you how they collect and use your personal information.  We hear about “cookies” that track your activity online, and collection of your email address, phone number, IP address, and location.  Many companies bank this data so they can sell it to marketers.

 

But marketers are not the only ones buying.  Your data can also reveal your political, ethical, and world views.  And your biggest fears.  

 

Political campaigns and Super PACs aggressively seek to buy your data and online behavior so they can target you with influence campaigns.  This is especially true if you are an independent voter or live in a swing state.  Campaigns seek the best way “in” with discrete groups of voters, and how to scare people into voting a certain way.  

 

So they collect data on who likes to research and read about guns, then target them with claims that democrats will take your guns.  They identify moms researching vaccine risks, then flood them with ads saying that democrats will mandate shots that cause autism.  They find people who google-searched “danger of nuclear war” and send them influencers who say democrats will start World War III.  All false of course, but effective when aimed at the right audience.  You can see how any brand (like “democrats”) can be systemically and effectively eroded over time — all through use of data. 

 

Tech and social media giants are ecstatic to be at the center of this trade, and selling your online activity is how they’ve made fortunes.  We may soon see this pattern in the AI industry.  Your Chat GPT casually recommends a product that is really the result of a paid ad campaign.  Or Open AI sells your chat conversations that reveal your political inclination or whether you’re a swing voter, gun enthusiast, or new mom.  These companies may not do this yet — but there are lots of smart folks saying this is where we’re headed.

 

Personally, I’m exhausted of spam calls, unwanted email subscriptions, political text messages, and Google ads featuring a product I recently viewed without realizing I was being watched.  

 

So I will never sell or reveal your data from this site to any buyer, political group, or interested party.  I don’t use cookies, I won’t send you unsolicited emails, and I’m not spying on your internet activity.  If you interact with me on Substack or Buy Me a Coffee, I encourage you to read their privacy policies.  My website is hosted on Wix, which may automatically store your IP address and dates of your visits behind a firewall and out of my reach.  If you are concerned or curious about how your data is handled by Wix, feel free to reach out to me.

 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for visiting.