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Web Firms Choose Profit Over Privacy
An anonymous reader writes "Web Firms Choose Profit Over Privacy details the tactics of retailers and marketers to sell customer data. Examples include promising not to sell consumer data, but then 'renting' the data, and the use of shopping cart software with different privacy policies than the merchant."
Let's face it, the Internet is just not private. The Internet was conceived in a semi-private environment, absolutely bereft of retail commercial incentive, when the primary concern was sharing information.
I work in information privacy in health care. We are faced with the competing interests of sharing information and protecting confidences. It is a zero sum game between the two, to get one you have to give on the other.
I shop quite a lot on the Internet, but I do it as a special user on my systems so that my e-mail address, browser caches and cookie stores are distinct from those I use when otherwise communicating with people for non-commercial endeavors. I always lie about my gender, income, region and interests to web forms seeking demographic information. I use a special
credit card for Internet purchases which always go to my work address.
Does this give me absolute privacy? No, but it keeps me from being low-hanging fruit. I realize not everyone has the opportunities I do, but there are some things anyone can do.
We aren't entirely powerless in this game. Like all other technological challenges, you just have to keep ahead and don't let your predilection for convenience and free stuff lead you into stupid disclosures.
The best way to do is to be.
No, the biggest problem is that 1) there are no laws against selling your personal information, 2) if businesses violate their own policies there is usually little or no recourse, 3) standard business philosophy is that if it isn't specifically illegal then it's fair game, and 4) many businesses will still do illegal things if they think they can get away with it (before getting busted or going out of business).
If my email address is that damn valuable, it seems to me that I should be the one making money from it.
Why couldn't I create a licensing program for my personal info to sell licenses to marketers for, say, $10 million US per contact attempt.
It's my f***'n email address, after all, so I should be able to set the price. They should be at least as responsible with my information as other businesses are with their inventory.
"Lawyers are for sucks."
- Doug McKenzie
...some people will do it. It's money, and it's more money than a lot of people realize.
For example, I run a site that's pretty damn big, something like 300,000 accounts so far. I've already gotten several "business inquries" from direct marketing companies asking if I'd like to "rent" my customer data to them -- and some of these people are offering upward of 5 cents per user. And I don't have to tell you that a nickel here and a nickel adds up.
I haven't sold my user lists and never will, but rest assured that if I wanted to there is a huge market of companies that would be willing to let me name my own price.
And that is why companies do it.
Hilary Rosen's speech was about her love of money and her desire to roll around naked in a pile of money.
While I don't condone what Hooked on Phonics does, I wonder if they do something similar if you call their 1-800 number and you give them your mailing/shipping address. One of the big rationales behind store credit card offers and discount cards is obtaining customer information.
Anyone notice an irksome trend amongst retailers? "Sure, we sold you down the river, but we're not evil, we're just dumber than squirrels. Tough break, but I'm sure none of the five hundred spamhausen we sold your kid's details to will be as unscrupulous or idiotic as us!"
Since when did "We screwed up, but, meh." become an acceptable excuse?
Oh, wait, since Enron and Worldcomm. I forgot. Sorry, my bad. :(
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Or whatever you call it in this case..
They say everything is private. So you give them the info. Then later, they want to change their policy, so they just notify everyone they are going to give away the info unless they are told not to.
The thing is.. My deal with them is ALREADY DONE, and it was under the agreement that the info not be shared. I should not have to do maintenance to keep it that way.. THEY should have to get my express permission to share that information at a later date.. nut just send me a note and make me, again, state I don't want it released.. because we already agreed to that.
I guess it's not marketing.. but it's like how some cable companies would give everyone the new, upgraded package of shows, then expect anyone who didn't want to pay extra once the trial period was up to notify them, or else get billed. I know in BC the courts ruled it an illegal practice. People already agreed to a package.. you can't start changing it. Of course, the cable company caved anyway before the courts were done when a thousand or so people called in to cancel their cable immediately in protest. That gets their attention.
Changing a policy regarding that information should be clearly illegal.
If you're going to include a link in a slashdot story, link to the page with ads. It's not free to put content on the web, and the producers of content deserve compensation.
Linking to a page where the newspaper, who has expended capital to report the story, will get no ad revenue is wrong!
My other sig is extremely clever...