Data about potential voters—who they are, where they are, and how to reach them—is an extremely valuable commodity during an election year. And while the right to a secret ballot is a cornerstone of the democratic process, your personal information is gathered, used, and sold along the way. It’s not possible to fully shield yourself from all this data processing, but you can take steps to at least minimize and understand it.
Some of these companies target based on location data. For example, El Toro claims to have once “identified over 130,000 IP-matched voter homes that met the client’s targeting criteria. El Toro served banner and video advertisements up to 3 times per day, per voter household – across all devices within the home.”
Remediation
For full explanations, read the artucle under the “What You Can Do to Protect Your Privacy” tab.
- Install Privacy Badger
- Disable Your Phone Advertising ID and Audit Your Location Settings
- Opt Out of Tracking on Your TV or Streaming Device, and Any Video Streaming Service
- Don’t Click on Links in (or Respond to) Political Text Messages
- Create an Alternate Email and Phone Number for Campaign Stuff
- Keep an Eye Out for Deceptive Check Boxes
- Mind Your Social Media