It’s been written about many times before, but here it is again.
In these datasets, it’s not about the individual, it’s about the groups.
We’ve seen with Cambridge Analytics where this can lead. Because Facebook allowed advertisers to specifically target groups, they were able to deliver ads that were relevant to voters.
This is how party x appears, a white man between 35-45 with an income of 50-75k, 2 dogs and a cat, 3 kids and a divorcee, an ad that works well with your target group.
But they also can’t show ads that they know won’t do well for you.
It should be obvious why this is a problem even if you read carefully what the party as a whole stands for.

Now, as far as I know, it doesn’t happen in the Netherlands, but because the United States is so big, the choices of voters there have an enormous impact on us and the rest of the world.
So it is also important for the people out there to be well informed and not be misled by these advertisements.

You and I as individuals aren’t going to change much of course, but it’s important to be aware of this and not say things like “I have nothing to hide” just so they can have fun. If the majority adopts this position, then of course the chance of political intervention will be very small. The average politician’s IT knowledge is just enough to send an email and read the news.

So again, even if you have nothing to hide, it should still still be a problem for you if your data is used to find out what sensitive audiences are.