The other day I was reading an article on CNN (not one of those sponsored links, but an original CNN story) related to micro-investments in expensive art pieces. I was still reading when I received a Linkedin invite from a guy whose business is selling art. Note that I very seldom get connection requests, I have very limited if no interest in art, and this guy’s profile has nothing to do with my Linkedin profile or connections.
What the f***?
This is similar to a subplot in my book, Bedeviled. It happens to a man who works at a military installation and has security clearance.
Yes, guy was probably just staring at his affiliate marketing dashboard for the CNN campaign on micro-investments, and as soon as your IP (and browser fingerprint) popped into his ad-tech platform, he clicked on one of your data points in the profile they have on you: in this case your LI profile.
I don’t call it smart marketing, because you were rightfully freaked out, not likely to become a customer 
I nice site for (more advanced) users that want to improve their privacy, with numerous alternatives to privacy-invading softwares:
Help make mass surveillance of entire populations uneconomical! We all have a right to privacy, which you can exercise today by encrypting your communications and ending your reliance on proprietary services.
Found on another interesting site that offers alternatives to popular commercial software that invades your privacy too: Switching Social
An article about how data collections are affecting our state of democracy in the US. Our system is officially broken it seems…
Look at this great Mozilla site section, that evaluated hardware gadgets for their privacy issues, and found the ones that are included severely lacking:
This is an idea we also had for our community website, but this time for rating apps and websites on their privacy protections. Such functionality can be part of Idea - Humane Technology Logo Program
(Note: Mozilla link also posted by @patm in Tech that is available to safeguard your privacy and security)
I wanted to cross-post this excellent PDF resource from the Digi Rights: Applying fundamental Human Rights to the Digital Realm - #18 by Free topic (thank you @Free for posting it):
Privacy, Data and Technology: Human Rights Challenges in the Digital Age
This paper provides a high-level summary of the
key international and domestic human rights
standards and principles that can guide legal and
policy frameworks in responding to the rapid
advance of digital technology.Part I of the paper sets out the international
human rights framework that applies to
surveillance and personal data, with a focus on
the right to privacy. Part III outlines the permissible
limitations on the right to privacy.
Big Brother Watch UK has published a 60-page PDF on the state of surveillance in 2018:
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Quoting from the Concusion of the report:
THE STATE OF SURVEILLANCE IN 2018
Conclusion
Surveillance has permeated almost every aspect of our lives. A future that,
to many, may seem distant and unimaginably dystopian, is very much a
reality in 2018. As the contributions to this report demonstrate, it does
not matter if we have something to hide or not. In our mass surveillance
society, anyone and everyone is under suspicion and observation, whether
justified or not.If we want to change this state, we need to be more alert to the subtle
changes that threaten our civil liberties. The testimonies in this report are
only the tip of the iceberg, and most surveillance happens without anyone
ever finding out. But this silent erosion of our rights must be brought to a
halt. Suspicionless surveillance not only affects the individual but skews
our perception of others, and risks morphing our society into a repressive
and authoritarian one where principles of free speech and expression are
under-valued. Privacy is key in the delicate power balance between the
citizen and the state.After all, in what kind of society do we want to live?