&gt; Are employers getting access to search data today?<p>The more it&#x27;s used, the cheaper it becomes to collect and sell. The issue is never about how it is used today; always about how it can be used in the future.<p>You can always find a way to work for yourself and avoid passing an employer background check. I&#x27;m more worried about political parties and private eyes -- blackmail, extortion, ugly divorce proceedings, etc. This can have a chilling effect on free speech and curiosity.<p>The Jacob Applebaum talk explaining linkability.[1]<p>Anyone who has access to any website where you logged into an account you publicly admit to owning can link your public identity to any private&#x2F;anonymous persona, given another marketing data source. Verizon &quot;owns the data&quot;, but not really.  They are the original owner of the data, but eventually Expirion (target of the recent T-Mobile-Experion data theft) and the other credit reporting agencies will have your X-UIDH. Facebook, Twitter, and Google will know as soon as you log in once. They will be able to identify all of your accounts, perhaps even if you use a VPN.<p>As with any other high tech tracking, the average end-user is either unaware of the zombie cookie or unaware of the full capabilities of the linkability of it.<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=HHoJ9pQ0cn8" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.youtube.com&#x2F;watch?v=HHoJ9pQ0cn8</a>