Screenshot courtesy Eventbrite - One of several Farm Freedom and Safety Act consultations being advertised on Eventbrite.

By Alex McCuaig

Farm-Consultations

New farm consultations, new way of advertising

Jul 26, 2019 | 5:44 PM

There is a common saying regarding the Internet; if you’re receiving a free service online, you are the product. However, the city’s two local MLAs are asking participants in the upcoming local Farm Freedom and Safety consultations to register via a free Internet platform.

The NDP government introduced the controversial Bill 6 in 2015 that saw sweeping changes to workplace legislation affecting Alberta farms and ranches. The ensuing government consultations saw hundreds of southeastern Alberta ranchers and farmers vocally voice their displeasure, including at the local consultation event at the Cypress Centre in the fall of 2015.

The current UCP government has vowed to repeal Bill 6 and replace it with the Farm Freedom and Safety Act with a series of consultation events being held across southern Alberta to garner feedback on the proposed legislation.

Those consultations are currently being advertised on the free Internet platform, Eventbrite, for communities in Brooks, Irvine, Claresholm, Olds and Rimby – but not on the Government of Alberta website.

A Medicine Hat computer expert says utilizing services such as Eventbrite doesn’t come without a cost.

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”If you are using something for free on the Internet – for example, like Facebook, Gmail – it’s free and you’re not giving any money then that means you are the product. And they are making money off of you using their services,” said Richard Munro, general manager of Memory Lane Computers.

MLAs Drew Barnes and Michaela Glasgo have been promoting registering on Eventbrite for the upcoming consultations in Brooks and Irvine on their respective Twitter and Facebook accounts. The site allows a number of its partners, such as Facebook, Twitter and Google Analytics, to install computer cookies on those who sign up to register to posted events.

While Munro says the data collected through cookies on a site like Eventbrite is relatively benign, the information is shared with other free services which can then be used to target specific advertising to users.

“You can target whether they are male or female, their age group where they live, their likes, what they are interested in and then you can target specifically towards that sort of stuff,” said Munro. “And they have a lot of information on you and as an advertiser, you can really geo-target towards those customers on Facebook and these other platforms.”

The Eventbrite service is free but the information it collects is the product, according to Munro.

“It’s a pretty common tool that people use,” said Jessica Johnson, director of communications for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, regarding the use of Eventbrite by MLAs.

“It just depends if that’s the tool they’ve chosen to keep track of who is going to come,” she said of the upcoming public consultations.

If individuals are interested in attending the farm legislation consultations but do not want to utilize Eventbrite, they can check to see if there is space available by contacting their local MLA’s office said Johnson.

“Some MLA offices are using this as a tool to confirm attendance numbers to help with planning but if people would prefer not to use that service, they are more than welcome to call the MLA office directly and express an interest in attending and find out if there is an event taking place near them,” said Johnson.

Local consultations on the proposed Farm Freedom and Safety Act will be taking place in Brooks and Irvine on July 27.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is asking for feedback on the proposed legislation through an online survey.