from Hacker News

Tax filing websites have been sending users’ financial information to Facebook

by dannykwells on 11/22/22, 1:30 PM with 74 comments

• by sphars on 11/22/22, 2:23 PM

  > The data, sent through widely used code called the Meta Pixel, includes not only information like names and email addresses but often even more detailed information, including data on users’ income, filing status, refund amounts, and dependents’ college scholarship amounts

  The investigators on this have included some of the data they saw being shared that you can see at their GitHub[0]

  [0]: https://github.com/the-markup/meta-pixel-taxes

• by nerdjon on 11/22/22, 2:20 PM

  I hate this situation so much.

  I can block a lot with my browser but then often websites stop working, so while that is a solution since I have the technical knowledge to handle it there is no way in hell I am going to tell my parents to install something that will block this stuff.

  Throw in the tracking in apps and potential server side tracking that there is nothing I can do about.

  We need some serious laws to be implemented. I have removed Facebook and google as much out of my life as possible, but they still collect data about me without my consent and it is very frustrating.

  I despise that other people can consent to have my data given to these companies (by my data being on their devices as my phone number, texts, whatever) and then these companies can consent for me to have my data sent just by going to their website.

• by mindslight on 11/22/22, 2:49 PM

  So much web software shamelessly includes malware. When you need proprietary software to do anything sensitive, a better approach is to pirate an installable software package, install and fully update it, make sure it works, kill the VM's Internet access and never reenable it, and communicate only via Samba on the local network. This takes care of OS, developer, and distributor malware in one fell swoop.

  (I agree with another comment saying we need privacy legislation that would stop this sort of thing, but in the mean time the only thing you can change is yourself)

• by kova12 on 11/22/22, 11:59 PM

  What. The. Fuck.

  Tax is arguably on the same level of confidently as health data, and companies entrusted with this information just sells it off?

  Tax was supposed about giving government your money. There wasn't supposed to be private information disclosed as a result of filling taxes. This is beyond outrageous

  What. The. Fuck...

• by yumraj on 11/23/22, 8:11 PM

  FB lays off 11,000 people.

  I overcome my hate for FB and feel a little bit of sympathy for these people, might even want to hire a few if/when situation presents itself.

  Then I read this, I’m reminded of what FB is and who all created this system, all sympathy vanishes.

• by snowpid on 11/22/22, 3:30 PM

  It is important to say, and it is simply not mentioned, that this problem is an American problem.

• by benjaminbachman on 11/22/22, 3:04 PM

  "If you aren't the customer, you're the product" apparently is a lie. You're the product no matter what. Unless I missed it in the article, I doubt paying $100 for the advanced tax prep excluded me from this.

• by 0cf8612b2e1e on 11/23/22, 6:49 PM

  Will add this to the long list of reasons why Facebook employees should not act indignant when the public assumes the worst from their employer.

• by musicale on 11/23/22, 11:37 PM

  Because of course they have.

  That being said, credit bureaus and data brokers seem just as bad as Facebook, just less visible.

• by Animats on 11/23/22, 8:06 PM

  What happens if you send MetaPixel a CCPA demand?

• by donutshop on 11/22/22, 9:58 PM

  Could anyone comment on simpletax?

• by datavirtue on 11/22/22, 7:29 PM

  Of course! Why not?

• by xorcist on 11/23/22, 6:39 PM

  "Tax filing websites" is a strange invention. Tax should be filled with the tax office.

  Involving third parties in the process can only make things more complex. Even if that market should grow and attract entrepreneurs it's all artificial rent seeking, and not positive for the economy at large.

• by sys_64738 on 11/22/22, 3:53 PM

  Hopefully Facebook will self-implode with Zuck's Metaverse taking the whole org with it. Call your Congress person and ask them if they're being sponsored by the likes of FB or these tax webpages. Then ask them to stand up for your consumer rights.