Online companies and brick & mortar stores have been collecting info about us for years. This doesn't seem to be any different EXCEPT for the fact that this information ISN'T being sold by the company (Coremetrics). While I think Toys-R-Us should have followed recommended procedure and commented about Coremetrics in their privacy statement, that is their responsibility not the responsibility of the site providing the service to them.
Here's what I don' get:
When we walk into a Radio Shack and they ask for our name and address, they pull up a whole page of info on us. (Things we have bought in the past...address, etc..)
We pay with credit cards and all of our purchases are tracked by the credit card agency. They ALSO have our name, address, etc... You don't think that they SELL this stuff? Right.
We buy from Amazon and they try to recommend new purchases based on purchases made in the past.
This type or demographic information is nothing new to business, it's just refined for today's technology.
Don't be scared of Toys-R-Us stalking you and your children, or Coremetrics, finding out where you live. Be scared of digital fingerprints on driver's licenses, random drug tests, and abuse of power by the local police.
My $.02
Slashdot Mirror
Online companies and brick & mortar stores have been collecting info about us for years. This doesn't seem to be any different EXCEPT for the fact that this information ISN'T being sold by the company (Coremetrics). While I think Toys-R-Us should have followed recommended procedure and commented about Coremetrics in their privacy statement, that is their responsibility not the responsibility of the site providing the service to them. Here's what I don' get: When we walk into a Radio Shack and they ask for our name and address, they pull up a whole page of info on us. (Things we have bought in the past...address, etc..) We pay with credit cards and all of our purchases are tracked by the credit card agency. They ALSO have our name, address, etc... You don't think that they SELL this stuff? Right. We buy from Amazon and they try to recommend new purchases based on purchases made in the past. This type or demographic information is nothing new to business, it's just refined for today's technology. Don't be scared of Toys-R-Us stalking you and your children, or Coremetrics, finding out where you live. Be scared of digital fingerprints on driver's licenses, random drug tests, and abuse of power by the local police. My $.02