Threads Monetization Fears

Has anybody considered the idea that boosts from non-Meta properties to Threads could legally be used to build ad profiles? We already know they do that sort of account association with non-fedi accounts.

EDIT: Looks like that’s absolutely the plan. From the privacy policy

“Information From Third Party Services and Users: We collect information about the Third Party Services and Third Party Users who interact with Threads. If you interact with Threads through a Third Party Service (such as by following Threads users, interacting with Threads content, or by allowing Threads users to follow you or interact with your content), we collect information about your third-party account and profile (such as your username, profile picture, IP address, and the name of the Third Party Service on which you are registered), your content (such as when you allow Threads users to follow, like, reshare, or have mentions in your posts), and your interactions (such as when you follow, like, reshare, or have mentions in Threads posts).

We use the information we collect for Threads for the purposes described in the Meta Privacy Policy, including to provide, personalize, and improve Threads and other Meta Products (including seamless personalization of your experience across Threads and Instagram), to provide measurement, analytics and other business services (including ads), to promote safety, integrity and security, to communicate with you, and to research and innovate for social good.”

help.instagram.com/515230437301944?helpref=faq_co…

EDIT 2: After doing a little more thinking, I’ve come to the conclusion that the general narrative about Threads plan to steal users from similar federated services ignore the fact that it’s certainly cheaper to let the volunteers of the fediverse take on the moderation costs while they monetize the data. Though the two certainly are not mutually exclusive.

zalack, (edited )
zalack avatar

I posted a version of this in another thread:

I really think Lemmy, Kbin, and Mastodon need to figure out a way to have a default terms of service that ships with their product which forbids using the API to collect data for anything outside of user-facing social network interfaces, including account association heuristics and similar processes.

A way for users to set licenses on individual posts would be huge as well, with a default license instance admins can set.

That way for-profit instances could be forced to filter out posts with licenses that do not allow for-profit use. Honestly, even just a simple check mark "[ ] allow for-profit republication", and have two licenses that can be attached: one that allows for-profit use and one that does not.

The fediverse should start baking in data control into it's legal framework. Want to federate with Mastodon? You need to follow the ToS for what you can do with its posts. If we wanted to get really extreme we could even say the license should be copy-left. Any instance that wants to federate with a non-profit instances needs to also be non-profit.

That could block for-profit companies from becoming part of the network in the first place, even by use of stealth relay instances.

spaduf,
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

This is a great take. I think folks definitely need to start thinking about establishing legal bedrock for this sort of thing.

Vulnicura, (edited )

Thoughts on this friends? @ernest @dessalines @nutomic @Gargron

ZILtoid1991,
ZILtoid1991 avatar

Basically, what they're planning to do is to try and deanonimize user handles. I use the handle ZILtoid1991 on most networks, and is the same for most other people. In general, there's nothing wrong with it. It makes people to be easier to be found. However, it can be easily exploited by data harvesters, like Meta, and I have to rely on their services still (especially Facebook) due to how prevalent its use is in my home country, Hungary.

I also think they might use the Fediverse as a free moderation team, if they plan to moderate it at all. Facebook report system is completely broken, as instantly flags hate speech as safe, and will likely delete anything critical of it. However, large corporations like Meta (and X) can win more by playing some lip-service to the far-right: work-moralist attitude, tax breaks for the wealthy, protection from the working class, and so on. I have some theory that some tech corporations secretly boosted the far-right until they got too big there, then tried to write it off as an "oopsie". Twitter seems to be way more open about it.

Rabbithole,

What we should be doing is de-federating them en-mass.

Nothing good will come from having Facebook/Meta involved here.

ruud,
@ruud@lemmy.world avatar

blog.joinmastodon.org/…/what-to-know-about-thread…

spaduf, (edited )
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Further context from the Threads privacy policy.

It states: “Information From Third Party Services and Users: We collect information about the Third Party Services and Third Party Users who interact with Threads. If you interact with Threads through a Third Party Service (such as by following Threads users, interacting with Threads content, or by allowing Threads users to follow you or interact with your content), we collect information about your third-party account and profile (such as your username, profile picture, IP address, and the name of the Third Party Service on which you are registered), your content (such as when you allow Threads users to follow, like, reshare, or have mentions in your posts), and your interactions (such as when you follow, like, reshare, or have mentions in Threads posts).

We use the information we collect for Threads for the purposes described in the Meta Privacy Policy, including to provide, personalize, and improve Threads and other Meta Products (including seamless personalization of your experience across Threads and Instagram), to provide measurement, analytics and other business services (including ads), to promote safety, integrity and security, to communicate with you, and to research and innovate for social good.”

help.instagram.com/515230437301944?helpref=faq_co…

Rooki,
@Rooki@lemmy.world avatar

Wow i hope threads will not join fediverse

ruud,
@ruud@lemmy.world avatar

With what part of the blog does that not match?

spaduf,
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I think I had misunderstood the wording of the “Will Meta get my data or be able to track me?” section. I will amend my post.

AlmightySnoo,
@AlmightySnoo@lemmy.world avatar

There are comparisons to be made between Meta adopting ActivityPub for its new social media platform and Meta adopting XMPP for its Messenger service a decade ago. There was a time when users of Facebook and users of Google Talk were able to chat with each other and with people from self-hosted XMPP servers, before each platform was locked down into the silos we know today. What would stop that from repeating? Well, even if Threads abandoned ActivityPub down the line, where we would end up is exactly where we are now. XMPP did not exist on its own outside of nerd circles, while ActivityPub enjoys the support and brand recognition of Mastodon.

This is not really a convincing answer, so EEE is still a risk.

dekatron,

I don’t fully understand—would Meta be able to serve you targeted ads based on your non-Threads fediverse activities? Where would these ads appear? How do they know it’s you just from your fediverse accounts?

spaduf,
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

No they would associate your boosts and likes from your fedi accounts to existing known (some Facebook or Instagram based) ad profiles. Here’s an article about that as a practice: here. That info would then be used in pretty much every location that you already see targeted ads, folding you into the existing Meta ad machine without you ever agreeing to a TOS or making an account.

dekatron,

From what I understand, those shadow profiles are based on information that Meta gets about you from other users, or through things like cookies and tracking pixels.

Suppose that Meta builds a shadow profile for each fedi user, then how would they link it back to you? They cannot get your IP address from just being federated with your home server, and they cannot inject a tracking pixel to your server’s website. Is there another way that they could use your fedi activity to serve you targeted ads?

SwallowsDick,

Doesn’t all social media have this, unfortunately?

spaduf,
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

There’s absolutely no reason it has to or should.

vegivamp,
@vegivamp@feddit.nl avatar

Technically, no, but then they need another source of revenue, because servers at that scale aren’t cheap.

spaduf,
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

The issue is that they can legally monetize users that never signed up to Threads. That’s what makes this set of circumstances unique.

faltuuser,

Isn’t Google or every other company doing the same thing by training their AI on publicly posted information.

spaduf,
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Training AI and selling information directly are very different in the eyes of the law.

faltuuser,

But doesn’t Meta build shadow profile on non users alredy?

spaduf,
@spaduf@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

They do but primarily through SSO services and platform partnerships. This is their bridge into monetizing the broader fediverse.

fossilesque,
@fossilesque@mander.xyz avatar

Yes. That’s part of all of it.

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