Blackspot

Can We Unclick Google?

A challenge to activists of the twenty-first century: how can we effectively fight back against Google's violation of our online privacy?

In a blog post earlier this week, I proposed an activist solution to Google's announcement that they would expand their tracking of users. In a post entitled unClick Google, I suggested that we undermine Google's business model, and their justification for creating behavioral profiles of the websites we frequent, by using a Firefox plugin to automatically click on all the Google AdSense ads. In so doing, I released a storm of debate over the possibility of forcing Google to adopt a pro-privacy corporate policy.

Google is a massive data warehouse that most internet users share personal information with, knowingly or not, every time they open a web browser. As many readers pointed out, even Adbusters utilizes Google's services on our website. Since 2007 we have relied on Google Analytics to analyze our website traffic. And by doing so we have shared our website statistics with Google.

The primary critique we heard of the idea I put forward was that Google's AdSense system has accomplished a "democratization of advertisers" by bringing many small shop owners into the business of placing online ads. Therefore, our plan to click on ads without viewing them, struck many people as harmful to the very people we want to help -- small, local businesses.

For others, the solution to rampant online advertising and Google tracking lies in a technological, not activist, praxis. They proposed that we use Firefox and install Adblock Plus which removes advertisements or NoScript which block trackers. Others pointed towards the ability to "opt-out" of Google's behavioral profiling by installing a piece of Google software in their browser. Or maybe we should all use alternatives to Google like Scroogle and Clusty.

The most important question that this tussle with Google raises is whether a fight against Google is even possible. Or is Google too big, too intertwined in the fabric of the internet, to be critiqued and forced to bow to our collective protest?

Clearly we are in a new era of activism and there are not any proven tactical answers. But one thing is clear: Google may be the culturejammer's toughest adversary yet.

Weigh in below and let's work together to build a strategy to jam Google and reclaim our online privacy.

Micah White is a Contributing Editor at Adbusters Magazine and an independent activist. He is writing a book on the future of activism. www.micahmwhite.com

95 comments on the article “Can We Unclick Google?”

Displaying 41 - 50 of 95

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amlisamiles

The web has already become a go to destination and so, advertisers will be the one who would find various other means to get eyeballs to their offerings. And then it would just spawn an army of search engines currently sitting in the sidelines and watching the google dance with a misty eye. I have finally hit on a strategy that seems to be working effectively in my effort to

amlisamiles

The web has already become a go to destination and so, advertisers will be the one who would find various other means to get eyeballs to their offerings. And then it would just spawn an army of search engines currently sitting in the sidelines and watching the google dance with a misty eye. I have finally hit on a strategy that seems to be working effectively in my effort to

cargocult

1) Downloand and install the Mozilla Firefox browser on your computer. 2) Next, get the add-on NoScript, freely available. 3) With the browser and add-on installed, click on the little S in the bottom right corner, you'll see a list of scripts being run on your browser. Forbid the following scripts: google-analystics.com You can also use this nifty add on to block all advertising - it's easy to do, but forbid the wrong scripts and you'll lose page functionality. Adbusting in action! P.S. anyone know what about:blank is? I block it, but have no idea... Only use Mozilla, and you should be fine.

cargocult

1) Downloand and install the Mozilla Firefox browser on your computer. 2) Next, get the add-on NoScript, freely available. 3) With the browser and add-on installed, click on the little S in the bottom right corner, you'll see a list of scripts being run on your browser. Forbid the following scripts: google-analystics.com You can also use this nifty add on to block all advertising - it's easy to do, but forbid the wrong scripts and you'll lose page functionality. Adbusting in action! P.S. anyone know what about:blank is? I block it, but have no idea... Only use Mozilla, and you should be fine.

sunnyman

This seems reasonable, if you really care about Google tracking what you are up to on the web. The strategy I saw mentioned in the article, making it so every AdSense ad gets clicked on, is really STUPID, since 1) all these poor webmasters would then be accused of clicking their own ads, and kicked out of AdSense - plus 2) it would skyrocket the ad costs for the advertisers. Would it hurt Google? Not really... There's no business like Google business.

sunnyman

This seems reasonable, if you really care about Google tracking what you are up to on the web. The strategy I saw mentioned in the article, making it so every AdSense ad gets clicked on, is really STUPID, since 1) all these poor webmasters would then be accused of clicking their own ads, and kicked out of AdSense - plus 2) it would skyrocket the ad costs for the advertisers. Would it hurt Google? Not really... There's no business like Google business.

tsdwfyam

1. Google is very practical for any kind of searches. 2. Google creates a register of your requests and tries to analyze it in order to gain user characteristics (and possibly sell it to advertisement companies). 3. There is a tool to completely corrupt this strategy: Use Firefox (as mentioned above) and the add-on "Track me not" (See: https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/search?q=trackmenot&cat=all ). Maybe you will have to switch it on by right-clickung on the little logo in the lower right corner of your Firefox and selecting "Enabled". This will interrupt the profiling. And Google can't abuse your data/sell it to whoever.

tsdwfyam

1. Google is very practical for any kind of searches. 2. Google creates a register of your requests and tries to analyze it in order to gain user characteristics (and possibly sell it to advertisement companies). 3. There is a tool to completely corrupt this strategy: Use Firefox (as mentioned above) and the add-on "Track me not" (See: https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/search?q=trackmenot&cat=all ). Maybe you will have to switch it on by right-clickung on the little logo in the lower right corner of your Firefox and selecting "Enabled". This will interrupt the profiling. And Google can't abuse your data/sell it to whoever.

børge / forteller

CustomizeGoogle is a great Firefox plugin which lets you remove ads and click tracking from Google-sites, anonymize Google cookies, not send info to Google Analytics, etc. http://www.customizegoogle.com/

børge / forteller

CustomizeGoogle is a great Firefox plugin which lets you remove ads and click tracking from Google-sites, anonymize Google cookies, not send info to Google Analytics, etc. http://www.customizegoogle.com/

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