Interesting point(s). The issue of cookies, ads, tracking etc has been raised previously by Counsellor, I think. In a related vain,
Reuters carried a story earlier today.

Privacy advocates, consumers and academics raised concerns that the merger of Internet giant America Online and media titan Time Warner raises the specter of an Orwellian society.

The companies dismissed images of a ``Big Brother'' controlling every aspect of people's lives -- as George Orwell envisaged it in his novel ``1984'' -- insisting the $164 billion merger, including $17 billion in debt, was really aimed at making the world better by fighting social ills.

``This is not just about big business. This is not just about money,'' says Gerald Levin, the Time Warner chairman who will be chief executive of the new linkup. ``This is about making a better world for people because we now have the technology and the instruments to do that,'' he said in early morning TV appearances.

With the deal, America Online, whose 22 million subscribers use telephone lines to go online, will gain access to Time Warner's cable television systems with faster and better quality connections. AOL can offer speedier Internet service plus the wide range of Time Warner's content, like CNN or HBO and Warner Bros. movies.

Yet Internet services can already monitor what users watch or read or what they order online and many people see the latest business marriage as one more step toward Orwell's nightmare vision of a totalitarian world. They saw in Levin's altruism, the cynical ``doublespeak'' of Orwell's future.

``If you look at it from the perspective of Orwell, it's scary,'' said Gary Klatsky, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Oswego State University in New York. ``But you can look at it from the other perspective that it will make life easier. For example, I can use the Internet to find a book to read. It's like having a friend giving advice.

``We're just scratching the surface. With new technology, the tools are there, but we don't know how they can be used,'' said Klatsky, who teaches a class on ``Human-Computer Interface.''

Dean Alger, a writer and political scientist, sees a danger of a few powerful media companies monopolizing the flow of information.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/busin...ewarner-o.html

And in our digital age, the potential for distorting reality/information is nearly limitless, as reflected in even current mainstaim news:
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/new...s-digital.html

And, in this same, distantly related vein, am I the only one who wonders at the irony of the US Government urging the breakup of Microsoft, while AOL merges with TW and rumours fly about a possible Disney & Yahoo hookup as well- along with other speculated megamergers? It's a wild world!

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 01-12-2000).]

[This message has been edited by doc (edited 01-12-2000).]