As you may have heard, President Donnie John Trump is soon expected to sign a bill into law that will allow internet service providers to sell info on you such as your browsing history as well as other stuff you'd probably like to keep private. So are you outraged? Well you should be!
The only problem is, your outrage is about 30 years too late. There have been companies around that long that do nothing but harvest information, build a profile of you, and then sell it to the highest bidder. Do you think those "reward cards" you sign up for at the grocery store or the pet supply store are just their way of saying thank you for your business? You do? Well I have some good news then. The Easter Bunny will be here in only 15 more days. WooHoo!
The truth is, when the information of your buying habits from those cards is compiled in a database along with all the other stuff about you such as what magazines you subscribe to, where you bank, which credit cards you have, which political party you most often vote for, etc, you have no privacy....NONE!
I've read that the average person is videotaped 300 times every day. The next time you're in Target or Walmart or 7-11 or Home Depot, look up. Those little dark colored half-round things mounted on the ceiling are cameras. Many high-traffic intersections you pass through while running errands every day take a picture of your car and license number.
Some shopping malls have security cars driving around mounted with license plate readers so they can track who is visiting and how long they stay. They watch you go in and out of stores and which items you pick up and buy or put down and walk away from. *Smile*
If you go out and buy a fishing rod or a shotgun, you can bet you'll start getting mailings from Bass Pro Shop and Cabelas, even if that isn't where you bought your new gear. Coincidence? Subscribe to Car And Driver, and in no time you'll be receiving special offers from Road and Track, Automobile, car aftermarket parts vendors, as well as anyone else whose products might fit your new interest profile.
"They" know who you are, where you live, the size of your family, your interests, what you like to eat, where you vacation, if you have hemorrhoids....they probably know things about you even you have forgotten. "You" are the focus of a giant industry.
The sad part is, "they" aren't going back into their bottle. Your privacy, like your innocence, is gone forever. It's a little too late now to worry about your internet service provider looking through your keyhole.
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I understand that our privacy is mostly an illusion, but it seems to me that this bill, which I heard passed by only one vote, will make it easier for these companies to hound us.
ReplyDeleteIt's just wrong for someone else to profit off of my data. I guess the best thing is not to do anything interesting enough for people to care.
ReplyDeleteWhat next? Repeal of the national "do not call" list?
ReplyDelete...the average person is videotaped 300 times every day... The thing is that once you go out in public, there is no expectation of privacy. I can understand that. But inside my house? I don't want anyone to know my browsing history! Even if I never do anything on the net that's "interesting."
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the few people who pay cash for many things (groceries, restaurant meals, etc.) I never thought about it before, but this does give you anonymity. Of course, this just isn't possible with airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals...