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Amazon Posts User Purchasing Data

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-so-cool dept.

Mark Denovich writes "Amazon worries those with privacy concerns with its new "feature" thatlets anyone view books, movies, and CDs ordered by amazon.com customers at corporations, nonprofit groups, and government agencies. " Its a neat idea, except that they don't let people opt out. This ought to get crazy.

4 of 187 comments (clear)

  1. Microsoft by drwiii · · Score: 3
    Does it really surprise anyone that the most popular books bought by people at Microsoft are about Bill Gates, invisible computers, and Netscape?

    Uniquely Bestselling Books: Microsoft Corporation

    ---

  2. Open letter to Amazon by JoeBuck · · Score: 5

    The following is a letter I just sent to the nice folks at Amazon.

    Hey people:

    (I was considering the salutation "Ladies and Gentlemen", but ladies and gentlemen don't behave as you have.)

    Don't you guys know that even as I type this, paranoid companies all over Silicon Valley (and believe me, we are all paranoid) are installing blocks to prevent their employees from connecting to Amazon?

    As for your "top 7 questions" you list on your "Purchase Circles" web page, are you really claiming that these are questions that real people are asking you? I'm sure that the real "top 7 questions" you are getting are:

    • How dare you?
    • What were you thinking?
    • Do you want to wreck your business?
    • Where do I send the cease and desist order to?
    • What kind of pea brains work for your marketing department?
    • Why do you think you have the right to violate our privacy in this way?
    • How do we get the page for our organization removed?

    My wife and I have frequently bought books from Amazon. We will not buy another book until two things happen:

    • "Purchase circles" are gone.
    • You institute a decent privacy policy (e.g. join TrustE or something similar).

    I have also recommended that out network support staff cut off our company from Amazon. People can buy books from home if they really want to.

  3. Re:Chapters.ca Privacy Policy by MindStalker · · Score: 3

    We don't currently sell or rent users' non-aggregated specific personal information to third-party companies, but we may decide to do so in the future. If this were to happen, Chapters.ca would announce such a plan by e-mail and ask you to "opt in".

    Chapters.ca will only email you to opt in to "non-aggregated" information. Sadly Amazon is claiming that this information is aggregated, while I would slighly dissagree, simply because corporations legally are very close to being an individual. So if Chapters took on the same idea, such a practice would fit into their privacy policy.

  4. Oh No! by kuro5hin · · Score: 3

    Now the FBI is going to find out about all those copies of Catcher in the Rye I've bought!

    --
    There is no K5 cabal.
    I am not the real rusty.