All of these -- barring illegal discrimination -- are actual problems that will come to light when it turns out the information is incorrect.
> If you're a 40 year old man, but your browser add-on convinces a data broker that you're a 34 year old woman seeking an abortion, that data can still cause you end up the target of a lawsuit in Texas and it will take a non-zero amount of time and money to clear that up.
It will make the data broker look bad when the prosecutor finds out that they fabricated my abortion. It might be annoying and stressful for me but I'm sure I'll get through it. It seems like I would have the same response to everything except the illegal discrimination as mentioned. If this is the result of me running the extension, I only see upsides.
> All of these -- barring illegal discrimination -- are actual problems that will come to light when it turns out the information is incorrect.
If I need a hotel and the place I'm booking decides to change me more than they would have otherwise because they're mistaken about my finances, I'm still getting charged more. None of that comes to light.
When a store tells me that their return policy is "next day only, with receipt" but they tell the next person in line it's "30 days no questions asked" all because their "consumer reputation service" told them I was unreliable when I'm not, I'm still stuck with their shitty return policy for "bad" customers. None of that will ever come to light.
When my health insurance company jacks up my premiums because a data broker told them that I've been spending more time at fast food restaurants, I'm never told that's what happened, I just get a bigger bill. Nothing ever comes to light.
When the police arrest me and question me because of my search history, maybe the truth comes to light, but not without significant costs to me.
Most of the time when people use the data that's been collected about you as a result of surveillance capitalism you have no idea that it even happened or why. You're just charged more money than you would have been, or you aren't offered opportunities you would have been given, or you're just rejected for something you wanted, etc. Nobody tells you why. There's not an investigation into how it happened. There is no transparency and there is zero accountability for errors.
> It will make the data broker look bad when the prosecutor finds out that they fabricated my abortion.
When have you ever heard of a data broker taking a huge hit to their reputation because they have inaccurate data? It doesn't happen. What data broker has a great reputation in the first place? Everyone using data brokers knows that the data is not 100% reliable. It doesn't matter. It's usually just a numbers game. Even when it's only for an advertisement, they know that not everyone they're targeting is going to buy something. That doesn't matter to them as long as some percentage does.
Do we know whether any of this stuff is actually happening, in reality, to actual people, based on some IP address's history of clicking ads? Any concrete examples you can link to?
Data brokers get their information from all kinds of sources. There is no complete breakdown on where it all comes from in every instance that the data is used, part of the problem with surveillance capitalism is that there is zero transparency and near zero accountability, but yes, data brokers do collect your browsing history and that includes what ads you view/click
As for examples of that data being used "in reality, to actual people" you might find some good info in these links:
Employers and landlords using data brokers for hiring/rental decisions:
Keep in mind that this is a rapidly growing space.
Travel sites, retailers, even grocery stores have been looking into how to use this kind of data to set the prices of their goods on an individual basis to make sure that they can squeeze as much money out of you as possible. The main thing holding them back so far is that consumers view discriminatory pricing as unfair, but they've been working hard for a long time to change that view. If you happen to find a place that requires you to scan a QR code to see prices or get a menu, you might want to check with the people around you to make sure everyone is paying the same price.
> If you're a 40 year old man, but your browser add-on convinces a data broker that you're a 34 year old woman seeking an abortion, that data can still cause you end up the target of a lawsuit in Texas and it will take a non-zero amount of time and money to clear that up.
It will make the data broker look bad when the prosecutor finds out that they fabricated my abortion. It might be annoying and stressful for me but I'm sure I'll get through it. It seems like I would have the same response to everything except the illegal discrimination as mentioned. If this is the result of me running the extension, I only see upsides.