U.S. senator demands suspension of phone-tracking system

[ronjor]

Responding to privacy concerns, two U.S. malls postpone rollout of Point Intelligence technology that tracks shoppers' movement through their phones

https://www.infoworld.com/t/security...-system-180215

[Trooper]

Interesting. Thanks Ron!

[Rmus]

Thanks for the post!

One of the Malls (Temecula, California) is near where I live. Our local paper carried this story today:

RETAIL: Promenade Temecula halts consumer tracking test
http://www.pe.com/business/business-...cking-test.ece

Testing of the FootPath system was slated to begin Black Friday weekend in the Temecula shopping center and in the Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Va. But Forest City Enterprises, the Cleveland-based company that owns both malls, apparently stopped the test the same weekend in response to outcry over consumer privacy issues.

Last week, the company said antennae had been installed around Promenade Temecula that could pick up signals emitted from consumer cell phones to track their movements.

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rich

[Dude111]

Responding to privacy concerns, two U.S. malls postpone rollout of Point Intelligence technology that tracks shoppers' movement through their phones

Good i hope it continues!!!

This privacy invasive crap needs to be stopped!!

[cm1971]

Originally Posted by Dude111

Good i hope it continues!!!

This privacy invasive crap needs to be stopped!!

I agree. The fact that they even considered it shows they don't value their customers.

[Rmus]

Originally Posted by cm1971

I agree. The fact that they even considered it shows they don't value their customers.

A logical conclusion from your (and others') point of view, but not logical from a company's point of view! They "value" their customers as consumers, and the more they can know about their purchasing habits, the better they can tailor their marketing.

I'm not saying that it's good or bad, it's just the way it is!

But, think of how much people are already tracked:

• Your ISP knows all of your surfing, unless you have sophisticated programs installed
  
• Web sites have ways of tracking who goes where on their sites; this is impersonal data, but still a type of tracking, similar to what the Malls want to do.
  
• Your phone company knows your calls and texting - look on your cell phone bill
  
• If you have a "super savings" card at a supermarket, it knows your purchasing habits
  
• Amazon.com and other online sites know your purchasing habits (unless you've arranged otherwise)
  
• If you have a local library card, the library knows your reading habits
  
• GPS devices for tracking vehicles have been used w/o search warrants, in some cases
  
• Other tracking devices already exist for vehicles, making a record of the driver's driving habits
  
• I wouldn't even want to speculate on what the NSA, IRS, FBI know about my daily life.

So, tracking in the Mall is just another intrusion into our lives. It seems more pernicious because of the potential to correlate personal data with a unique ID number, but in principle, it's really just an extension of the evolution of this type of activity.

Companies will continue to push to the limit to intrude and track. Court cases temporarily set back the boundaries, but they continue to be pushed forward toward an Orwellian abyss.


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rich

[cm1971]

Originally Posted by Rmus

But, think of how much people are already tracked:

• Your ISP knows all of your surfing, unless you have sophisticated programs installed
  
• Web sites have ways of tracking who goes where on their sites; this is impersonal data, but still a type of tracking, similar to what the Malls want to do.
  
• Your phone company knows your calls and texting - look on your cell phone bill
  
• If you have a "super savings" card at a supermarket, it knows your purchasing habits
  
• Amazon.com and other online sites know your purchasing habits (unless you've arranged otherwise)
  
• If you have a local library card, the library knows your reading habits
  
• GPS devices for tracking vehicles have been used w/o search warrants, in some cases
  
• Other tracking devices already exist for vehicles, making a record of the driver's driving habits
  
• I wouldn't even want to speculate on what the NSA, IRS, FBI know about my daily life.

So, tracking in the Mall is just another intrusion into our lives. It seems more pernicious because of the potential to correlate personal data with a unique ID number, but in principle, it's really just an extension of the evolution of this type of activity.

Companies will continue to push to the limit to intrude and track. Court cases temporarily set back the boundaries, but they continue to be pushed forward toward an Orwellian abyss.


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rich

All that is true but that doesn't mean it is right.

[aladdin]

Originally Posted by Rmus

Companies will continue to push to the limit to intrude and track. Court cases temporarily set back the boundaries, but they continue to be pushed forward toward an Orwellian abyss.


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rich

Hi Rich,

Maybe we should have feed implanted into our brains.

Welcome to Feed by M. T. Andserson

http://www.amazon.com/Feed-M-T-Anderson/dp/0763617261

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feed_%28Anderson_novel%29

A must read.

Best regards,

KOR!