back to article Facebook-basher Schrems raises enough dosh to get his Noyb out

EU-based campaigner Max Schrems – famous for taking Silicon Valley to task over citizens' privacy rights – has set up a non-profit outfit called Noyb, having exceeded a crowdfunding target. Noyb stands for “none of your business," and has, we're told, raised at least 300,000 Euros (£264,000, $373,354) from a Kickstarter …

  1. dnicholas

    People willingly give their data up, it's in the T&Cs that no one ever reads. That money is better spent on education imo

    1. Charles 9

      No, because you're talking the kind of people who REFUSE to learn. As a comedian once said, "You can't fix Stupid."

      1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

        "the kind of people who REFUSE to learn"

        And, indeed, are proud of their ignorance. The sort of people who'll tell you they know nothing about computers, science, whatever in the tone of voice that they'd consider themselves as lesser people if they did. And they consider you a lesser person if you do know about it.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      and what should we educate people to do? Not use these services and products?

      It's much better to make the providers stop being dicks with peoples privacy.

    3. SImon Hobson Bronze badge

      People willingly give their data up, it's in the T&Cs that no one ever reads.

      Go and read up on Shrems and his FarceBork case. It's is absolutely NOT just about what people give to them - willingly or through ignorance.

      FarceBork build profiles on people who have NEVER EVER agreed to their Ts&Cs, and it's "quite surprising" just how much they do collect on those people who have NOT agreed to it. They collect information whenever you visit a site with their slurping code embedded in it, they collect it from people who respond to their nagging and upload their contacts list, and I imagine they'll use other techniques. So someone includes you in their contacts uploads - they now have some selection from your name, home and work addresses, emails, phone numbers. Given your work details, they can then link that with other people at the same company etc. Given their home details they can link you with other people at your house. And having linked your basic details in this way, they can continue building a profile on you - through tracking sites you visit (see tracking code mentioned above), what other people post about you, people tagging you in photos (and then they can use facial recognition to spot you in other photos even if you aren't tagged), and so on.

      All this without informing you or getting your consent - first breach of data protection laws. And they export it to the USA which was declared illegal when "Safe Harbour" was found to be completely ineffective in protecting personal information.

      It is this illegal collection, processing, export of personal data in complete defiance of EU law that his case was about.

      And it's only a matter of time before Privacy ShieldFigleaf gets struck down as well - because USA law is fundamentally incompatible with EU data protection law.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        FarceBork build profiles on people who have NEVER EVER agreed to their Ts&Cs

        Bingo.

        It is this illegal collection, processing, export of personal data in complete defiance of EU law that his case was about.

        The data after that is given to external parties which are outside the scope of the Data Protection regime and legal agreements between USA and Eu. Most of them 3-letter abbreviations. Privacy shield puts some laughable fig-leaf on top of the issues when there was an agreement in the first place. There is absolutely NOTHING in it regarding such data which has appeared out of "nowhere" - with no originating agreement between data processor and individual. That is rather unsurprising as the fact that the data exists and is processed is illegal in the first place.

        Not that we care about it. When it is politically convenient we allow this to happen because, after all, what bad can happen for example from a neo-Nazi site run by personnel moving in and out of security services via a revolving door having a database of "kill targets" in other countries with their addresses, car number plates, children schools, routes where they travel, etc? Some of them living in Eu too. Nothing, right? The site in question in Peace-Keaper operating in Ukraine with which we surprise, surprise have a similar DPA agreement as a part of the conditions for their Eu trade agreement. Goes to show you how much are DPA agreements worth (even when they are not printed on toilet paper).

    4. Hans 1
      Facepalm

      People willingly give their data up, it's in the T&Cs that no one ever reads.

      Go read up on ghost accounts ... basically, they pilfer your email contacts (facebook), tel numbers (WhatsApp) and create accounts for each and every email address/tel number ... they then know who knows who, unless you have unique email addresses for each friend of yours. Then, your friends post photos of you, drunk in the pub, and somebody tags you ...

      You apply for a job, and somebody, somewhere, finds that photo on facebook of you, whilst you have never been on that site ... oh, and facebook owns the copy of an illegal photo, sue them!

      Note that to take a picture of somebody where I live, you need written consent, hardly ever honored, mind ...

    5. ecofeco Silver badge

      Willing? Like they have a choice?

      Deactivate cookies and tracking and you can't even pay your bills on-line or take on-line classes, let alone shop. Hell, most websites won't even load if you block all their bullshit.

      It's gotten bad even in the old backwaters of the Internet.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lawyers + Sueballs, only thing Corporations understand

    Its how 'they apologize', especially in America. So Kudos Max, lets rock!

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I wonder how much of the money he raised was for personal bodyguards?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mag. Schrems

    Herr Magister, beers are on me next time I'm in Vienna.

    1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
      Pint

      Re: Mag. Schrems

      @AC

      Herr Magister, beers are on me next time I'm in Vienna.

      Perhaps a (Dorset) Knob or two with the beer?

      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-42915364

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