Companies are collecting your personal data. Here's what you need to know

Is this really "world news"? 😕

I mean, what's new? We've known for years that companies are collecting our personal data online.

Boy this was an easy article to write.

But no one can collect your personal data if you don't give out your personal data. When signing up for mundane sites where no money is involved, give fake info; fake street address, fake birthdate. Abbreviate your name, many sites will accept J Smith instead of John Smith.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

All across the Internet, vast amounts of consumers’ personal data can be harvested from our search history, browser preferences, and the information we input.

For example, the more data collected on patients’ past illnesses and treatments, the more doctors can understand about their health now and be able to find solutions.

Though beneficial in many ways, the speed at which the digital economy has grown in recent years has made monitoring difficult for lawmakers.

This data, which was collected without the users’ consent, was used by the firm to profile and target voters on behalf of former US president Donald Trump during his successful US presidential campaign in 2016.

The scandal acted as a wake-up call for policymakers who realised the potential dangers posed to democracy and human rights by unregulated data collection.

The DSA will protect users by giving them more control over what they see online, such as targeted advertising, and help to limit the proliferation of illegal or harmful content.

I'm a bot and I'm open source!