From The Chief Editor's Desk...

Recently, I had a rather long email conversation with another member of our PCLinuxOS family (who will remain nameless here). In it, we lamented about some of the more recent failings of online life, as well as the failings of some of our so-called “Big Tech” leaders.

In the EU, they have the GDPR to help protect user data, and to reign in the data collection by “Big Tech.” Here in the U.S., we pretty much have nothing (or next to it) to protect the collection of private personal data. In the U.S., it’s pretty much the Wild, Wild West when it comes to collecting (and leveraging) user data. At least those living under the rule of EU law have some protections, but even that doesn't go far enough. But, it’s a good start. It’s definitely FAR, FAR more protection than we have here in the U.S.

Here in the U.S., we’re in a constant battle with the behemoths of the “Big Tech” community. We’re talking about companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and other members of that “exclusive” club. These companies have no conscience. They are after one thing, and only one thing: profits.

Recently, Google has fully implemented Manifest V3, which effectively renders browser ad blockers useless, and have fully deprecated Manifest V2 at the same time. Well, at least on Chromium-based browsers (Google Chrome, Chromium, Edge, Opera, Brave, etc.). Mozilla, and the other web browsers that use the Mozilla web engine (Firefox, Midori, etc.) still support both Manifest V2 and Manifest V3. Thus, your ad blockers still work under Firefox and others that use the Mozilla web engine.

You only have to “follow the money” to discover why Google decided to drop Manifest V2, and to replace it with Manifest V3. While Google’s most visible public-facing image is from running their search engine, Google Docs, YouTube, and the whole host of Google’s other “services” that they own and run, the vast majority of their revenue comes from selling ads. Their “angle” was to collect as much user information as they can, and then display ads based on each user’s interests … interests revealed by the massive amount of user data Google had amassed from all of the user interaction from their many “services.”

So, Manifest V3 is a thinly veiled (albeit successful) attempt by Google to prevent those ads sold by Google from being blocked. With ad blockers virtually neutered, those ads sold by Google are no longer blocked, and they thus have a larger audience. With a larger audience, Google can charge more to potential advertisers, because the ads are reaching more people. We can sum it all up with one word: greed. LOL! Forget about “Do No Evil.” That’s so naive and so “yesterday.” In fact, Google abandoned their “Do No Evil” mantra many years ago. Like Google needs the money. They just paid $32 billion dollars … CASH … to buy up a cybersecurity firm, Wiz. Yes, I’m aware that the EU regulators have fined Google billions of dollars, but it’s nothing more than a light slap on the wrist. Given that Google can spend $32 billion dollars CASH to buy up another company, those fines imposed by the EU are just a “cost of doing business” for Google, not a punishment.

Not to be outdone, Meta has their “Facebook Pixel” that is embedded on the vast majority of websites out there (but NOT this magazine’s website!). That “Facebook Pixel” gathers information on all users who traverse those web pages, regardless of whether that user is a Facebook user or not. As it tracks users across the web, the sites that a user visits reveals a LOT about their interests, allowing Facebook to target current and future users of that platform ads that are reflective of those interests.

Amazon doesn't want to be outdone in this area, either. As if your purchase history on Amazon isn’t revealing enough about your interests, you also have to consider all of the websites hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers. Amazon has a literal TON of information to use for targeting you with not only ads, but also purchase recommendations … all designed to get you to part with your money by buying more shiitake mushrooms you don’t really need.

These stories and themes go on and on and on and on, ad infinitum. Your personally identifiable and private information literally IS the currency of modern travels on the World Wide Web. It is more of the same theme that was unveiled in Mozilla’s bungled rollout of Firefox’s first ever “terms of use” agreement (covered elsewhere in this issue). It doesn’t seem that one entity of that exclusive club learns a single thing from the missteps of the other members of that exclusive “Big Tech” club. How many examples do we need before we all realize that these “Big Tech” companies cannot (or will not) police themselves?

What’s really needed (and probably the farthest from fruition) is legislation that protects user data. Here in the U.S., our legislators are a bunch of octogenarians who can barely figure out how to even turn on a computer. To most of them, the computer is this mysterious black box where all kinds of magic they don’t/can’t even begin to comprehend happens. They don’t understand the intricacies of the problem, nor the intricacies of that “magic” that happens in that mysterious little box. So, we can’t trust them to create meaningful legislation to protect user data.

And that’s completely separate from the fact that they are also voting for the ability of those three- and four-letter government agencies to collect as much of this data as they can, allowing them to essentially spy on the very people who elected them to power (conflict of interest much?). At this point, any legislation protecting user data will merely be a dog and pony show, meant to placate the masses and make them think that they’ve done something meaningful, with legislation that will ultimately be ineffective and weak, at best. Meanwhile, the vast majority of users don’t care, don’t worry, and won’t change their behaviors as they blissfully immerse themselves in these data-mining traps.

So, the ultimate responsibility falls to each individual user. Those users need to fully understand the issue, and how to prevent it (as much as they can). Unfortunately, there’s not a lot that users can do about some of this data collection. But, you can make it difficult for those entities (corporate and governmental) to collect and profit from your personally identifiable private information.

This month’s cover celebrates the upcoming Easter holiday. The image of a penguin dressed up in an Easter Bunny costume, surrounded by eggs and candy, was generated with Bing’s AI image creator.

Until next month, I bid you peace, happiness, serenity, prosperity, and continued good health! Be careful … influenza is still circulating with a vengeance.