SAT.1 Frühstücksfernsehen: Secure data on the net

Sleeping late is overrated

What used to be morning radio is now breakfast television. For singles in particular, it dispels loneliness in the morning. Later in the morning, it helps to sweeten the ironing for those left at home. Because the programme's target groups change throughout the morning, each guest also appears twice. Breakfast TV is the best way to learn how to captivate an audience in front of the screen. The scenes in the large studio are changed every three minutes. First the two hosts talk to each other, then the guests are interviewed alternately on the couch or at the breakfast table.

The Creepy Line

The occasion for my invitation was "The Creepy Line", a new film that attempts to castigate Google in a scandalous tone. The presenter was all the more pleased to learn that although there is certainly cause for criticism, the advantages of Google in daily life outweigh the disadvantages, as long as certain precautions are taken and measures are followed. Click here for the TV report.

I am a data hypochondriac

For example, I have recommended searching for disease symptoms in Google's anonymous mode. Google does its best to ensure the confidentiality of our search queries, but despite all its efforts, it is not immune to technical problems. Of course, people can draw conclusions about my state of health from my search for symptoms of illness. If my employer learns about this, he could possibly derive negative consequences for me.

Google handles data very carefully and also takes care that it is not lost if possible. The data is also not sold, as Google wants to do the business itself. Nevertheless, this strategy does not always work. Remember Google+ as a Facebook competitor. That was discontinued relatively quickly. Google also had many problems with data leaks and hackers. And when this data gets out, it eventually travels through the internet and is available to everyone.

My data is worthless - except to me

Google is so good because it uses my data to give me the best search result for me. My data benefits me first and foremost. Of course, Google could make a lot of money with our personal data. However, this data is far too valuable to sell. Google makes even more money by keeping the data secret and analysing it in order to turn it into advertising revenue itself. Originally, Google wanted to charge a tiny amount for each search result to cover its enormous investments in supercomputers. Since banks refused to charge such small amounts via transaction costs in the early years of the internet, Google had no choice but to turn to advertisers to prevent its own bankruptcy.

Imagination 4.0 - We are eavesdropped on always and everywhere

On this occasion, I was also able to dispel the myth that everything we talk about at home is intercepted by our smartphones, laptops and TVs. If that were the case, there would be an enormous increase in data transmission that would never go unnoticed. Time and again, users report that they have talked to partners or friends about a holiday destination or a certain purchase, and they already get the matching advertisements displayed on Facebook or Google. The best explanation for this is the so-called selective perception. If you are planning to buy a certain brand of car, you suddenly see an excessive number of cars of that brand on the street. In this case, the car manufacturers would also not be accused of sending them on the road especially for me for advertising purposes.

"Facebook is a data mess, nothing gets away from it."

Facebook has applied for a patent for voice control, but has not technically implemented it. We would notice that, too, because our smartphones ask us every time when we should release the microphone. So if I get an advertisement on a topic I've recently talked about, there's a relatively good chance that I've only forgotten that I've already looked around on Facebook on this or a similar topic. Because everything I do on Facebook stays on Facebook. That won't surprise anyone. Google also saves all our searches. You can even look at them afterwards. For example, the pictures that Dad Googled after midnight or what Mom uses the navigation system for when Dad is on a business trip show up here.

Deleting data is not really possible

Deleting data is one of the most difficult things that is technically feasible. This is because they cannot be deleted properly at all. Google and Facebook store our data. That is how it should be. We have entered them and want them to show up on our profile, make it easier for us to search and much more. But in the process, our data is stored on dozens of different servers. Deleting everything afterwards so that nothing remains is technically not so easy. Deleting the data is first of all just the process of making it no longer available to me. And Google also no longer uses them. But the data is still there somewhere, of course. Data only disappears when it is overwritten. And that's not so easy to ensure with all the backup copies.