While browsing the Fox News website, people found an unskippable popup asking them to input and verify their email IDs.
No one has been required to log in or verify their email IDs on the Fox News website for years. As such, this move has drawn backlash from its user base.
So, why is the corporation doing this?
Many users of the Fox News website noticed on December 15, 2023, that it is asking for the Email IDs of the people reading the articles. As Google will be removing third-party cookies in 2024, Fox News wants to expand its user base and use the information to send ads and promote its products to the people. However, people are upset and want the company to rescind this.
Why Is Fox News Suddenly Asking For Login and User Emails?
On the Fox News website, there’s an article titled, “Why does everyone seem to want your email address?” published on February 14, 2023.
The article says that advertisers, web publishers, and app developers all seek to collect email addresses primarily for the purpose of reaching out to users with advertisements, special offers, and promotional content.
Additionally, they view email addresses as a means to generate leads, creating a list of potential customers for future follow-ups. This results in a flood of daily emails, often with challenging unsubscribe processes, making it hard for users to opt-out.
Moreover, email addresses serve as a tool for tracking user activities across various websites and apps, enabling advertisers to deliver targeted ads.
The article stated that both Apple and Google have made significant efforts to empower users by offering options to block apps from tracking their online activities and to restrict websites’ use of cookies.
Upon your initial connection to a website, cookies start storing data tagged with a unique ID tied to your device, facilitating the gathering of personalized information about your online behavior.
However, it’s important to note that even with these privacy measures in place, willingly providing advertisers with your email address remains a potential vulnerability.
Email addresses hold personal information, allowing individuals to glean details like your educational background and ethnicity, highlighting the need for cautious data sharing in the digital age.
The article also mentioned how you can stop being tracked in the future.
They wrote that to safeguard your primary email account from being inundated with targeted ads, you should refrain from sharing it online. Instead, opt for strategies that enhance your email privacy.
Another effective approach is to utilize a private and secure email address hosted on an encrypted server. This step ensures that your email communications remain confidential and protected.
Also another valuable tactic is to consider employing an alias email address. By setting up a personalized email alias, you can quickly identify the source of unwanted emails and mitigate spam.
So, if you detect any breaches of this alias, you can delete it, preventing further spam.
However, it looks like Fox News has begun doing something similar. They are asking for the email addresses of the people browsing their articles. On the Fox News subreddit, a post stating the same by user u/techtony_50 was put up. It said:
“So I have not been to Fox News in about 2 months. Went today just to check in and see what was going on. BEHOLD! I click on two articles and each one is demanding I give out AND VERIFY my email address in order to read the news article… When did they start this crap?”
No one could answer when Fox News began doing this, but it came to everyone’s notice on December 15, 2023.
But as Fox News mentioned in its February 14, 2023, article, it’s probably to generate more leads and to expand its user base. As of the time of writing, there’s no sure way to unsubscribe from the corporate mailing list.
One Redditor said they had been getting popups on the Fox News website requesting their email address for a long time, but they ignored the request, and it went away. However, now it has become an unskippable and unavoidable popup.
Some advised the post’s author to move to Newsmax, while others said that Fox News would stop this due to the backlash against them.
As of now, it hasn’t been confirmed if the company will stop doing this.
Why do you think Fox News is collecting email addresses now after advising against it for years? Do you think the backlash will make them rescind this idea?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Fox News
