How do tech giants like Google and Facebook get and use your personal data?

It’s no secret that Facebook and Google have been dominating the digital ad sphere for quite some time.

Their success, in large part, comes from the tech giants’ ability to monetize their users, collecting information about their likes and dislikes, and targeting them with ads.

But how is this done, and to what extent? How can Canadians control the amount of personal information that is out there for public use?

Privacy experts Michael Geist, a professor from University of Ottawa who specializes in technology law, and Andrew Clement, professor emeritus and faculty of information co-ordinator at University of Toronto, weigh in on the platforms and how they collect and use personal data.

HOW DO FACEBOOK AND GOOGLE OBTAIN PERSONAL DATA?

The first thing, Geist noted, is that these platforms both operate on different models.

In the case of Facebook, he said, much of the information is supplied to the company directly by users who typically consent to this as part of a user agreement.

“As you engage in certain activities on the platform, Facebook is able to see that and both rely on the information you directly provided and develop inferences based on what kind of activity you engage in,” he said. “So once you’ve consented to that kind of information or provided it directly, Facebook has access to it.”

As well, Clement said, third parties providing apps and services through Facebook are able to access users’ personal information, as was demonstrated in the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal, through which the data agency used Facebook to try to shape political opinions ahead of the U.S. election.

When it comes to Google, data collection works a little bit differently, Clement said.

Unlike Facebook, Google doesn’t have certain abilities such as seeing what you “like” or who your friends are, however, users who are logged into Google through a Gmail account, will give the platform more specific information about themselves.

“There’s nobody necessarily reading your emails, but (Google) is using their analytic techniques to put you into categories, which then become the basis as to how they sell your attention to advertisers,” he said.

Clement added that another notable source of information for Google is via Google Maps.

“If you have that app … they’re getting a constant stream of information about where you are,” he said.

WHAT IS THE DATA COLLECTION PRIMARILY USED FOR?

The primary motive of data collection by Facebook and Google is to target users with relevant ads, Geist said.

He added that there is often misinformation that circulates about tech giants selling users’ information to third parties who then create lists and target those users themselves.

“Facebook is not interested in selling that information; they’re interested in using that information as an edge to generate more accurate ads,” he said. “The information they have about their users, much of it supplied by the users themselves — that’s their secret sauce. That’s how they are able to provide a more compelling ad product.”

HOW IS THIS PROBLEMATIC?

“I think it hits home that your activities are being captured,” Geist said. “Now, there are billions of users, so they’re not interested in you per se, but they want to know about you to provide that information and certainly there’s, I think, a creep factor associated with it.”

Clement argued that the problem stems far beyond the creep factor.

“They monetize your personal information by using that to predict and shape your behaviour and that is extremely dangerous,” he said.

WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

First and foremost, users shouldn’t be sharing information that they’re not comfortable with being used, Geist said. “If you share it, it is likely to be used. It may not affect you directly but you should know that that’s the reality,” he said.

Clement agreed.

“Think about what you post and look for alternatives and don’t assume that it’s all benign if you just leave it with these companies,” he advised.

Big tech users should also be aware of their privacy options while using these platforms on a regular basis.

“For users that haven’t taken the time to take a look at the privacy tools that are offered by these companies to allow them to shape some of those choices, they ought to do so, because in the broad world of data that could be collected, it’s a pretty wide range of stuff,” Geist added.

Something as simple as logging out of Gmail is a good way to prevent Google from identifying a specific user on the search engine, for example.

HOW CAN THESE MODELS BE CHANGED IN THE FUTURE?

Clement said one possibility would be to scale back tech giants to allow users to continue to enjoy the benefits of social media through some other form of payment that wouldn’t allow for the monetization of personal information.

And while these tech companies are large players when it comes to personal data collection, citizens should note that they are not the only ones. Companies and governments, too, have information about you.