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Have you seen the viral GoFundMe campaign floating around that vows to buy and publish the web histories of every politician and exec who is helping internet providers sell your data? Yeah, don\u2019t give that dude<\/a> your money.<\/p>\n I\u2019m all for wacky clever revenge plots, but this one just looks like a straight up scam. Whether self-proclaimed privacy activist Adam McElhaney means well or not (and he may), this campaign just doesn\u2019t make a lot of sense. And yet it\u2019s already made over $110,000!<\/p>\n This has been a humbling experience. Never did I imagine I would get this much support! We have raised nearly $100k for this cause!<\/p>\n \u2014 Adam McElhaney (@windmarble) March 29, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n First of all, it\u2019s not like this sort of thing\u00a0is a true open market where absolutely anything goes. Private individuals can\u2019t just waltz in, slam their money on a table (what table??) and demand targeted, de-anonymized internet data on individual users, successful GoFundMe campaign or not. Sure, advertisers can buy web user\u00a0data, but that\u2019s generally done in aggregate, and they have existing relationships that let them broker these kind of deals to begin with, sketchy as they may be.<\/p>\n Second, I mean, yeah, it\u2019s hypocritical. If you care about privacy, like really believe in it, throwing your ideals out the window for a half-baked revenge plot isn\u2019t a very good look. And like I said, I like revenge just fine. But it\u2019s a dish best served cold, and anyone who gives a shit about privacy is still worked up from yesterday\u2019s nonsense<\/a>. And, by the way, the GoFundMe wants to target\u00a0not only the politicians and the telecom fat cats, but also their families<\/em> (check the fine print). Not cool.<\/p>\n If you don\u2019t believe me<\/em>, then maybe you\u2019ll listen to Max Temkin, one of the creators of Cards Against Humanity, a company known for its often quite clever and wildly absurd crowdfunding schemes, like that time they dug a literal money pit<\/a> with your money. Dude apparently had the same idea, but even he thinks this GoFundMe situation is sketchy AF. This is coming from a guy who is literally sending potatoes to members of Congress<\/a>.<\/p>\n People are already mad at me that we haven’t released the data. As a reminder, this bill hasn’t been signed yet and there is no data to buy. https:\/\/t.co\/VYMJsu7d2U<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Max Temkin (@MaxTemkin) March 29, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n @DavidAns<\/a> this site is raising $1m on gofund me for promises they cannot possibly deliver on, it is a scam<\/p>\n \u2014 Max Temkin (@MaxTemkin) March 29, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n Apparently this campaign doesn\u2019t raise any red flags for GoFundMe, which provided TechCrunch with this statement:<\/p>\n \u201cThe campaign doesn\u2019t violate our terms of service. We are working directly with the campaign organizer to ensure the funds are managed appropriately. We encourage the campaign organizer to be transparent and continually provide updates on the campaign page.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n We\u2019ll update when we hear more from GoFundMe about what that means exactly or if McElhaney responds to our requests for comment. Like we said, he\u00a0might mean well, or he might not. It doesn\u2019t really matter. Save your cash for the battles that do \u2014 they\u2019re probably just around the corner.<\/p>\n Featured Image: Jason Costanza<\/a>\/Flickr<\/a> UNDER A CC BY 2.0<\/a> LICENSE (IMAGE HAS BEEN MODIFIED)<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Have you seen the viral GoFundMe campaign floating around that vows to buy and publish the web histories of every politician and exec who is helping internet providers sell your data? Yeah, don’t give that dude your money. I’m all for wacky clever revenge plots, but this one just looks like a straight up scam. Read More<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/img><\/a>
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