Customer Beware: You Are Being Tracked

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/customer-beware-you-are-being-tracked



Are you planning to visit Disneyland anytime soon? If so, watch out when you are offered its latest marketing innovation, the MagicBand. When it's introduced later this year, this oh-so-cuddly wristband will be embedded with a radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip and be part of a system dubbed MyMagic+. It will enable the company to monitor, track and analyze your every activity.
A recent New York Times exposé reveals how the giant entertainment conglomerate plans to employ some of the latest spy technologies to “customize” its operations. According to the Times, “Did you buy a balloon? What attractions did you ride and when? Did you shake Goofy’s hand, but snub Snow White? If you fully use MyMagic+, databases will be watching, allowing Disney to refine its offerings and customize its marketing messages." Sound innocent?

Disney’s plan to implement customer tracking is just the latest revelation about an expanding program of personal surveillance enveloping ever-greater aspects of personal life, online and in the physical world.

Sadly, most Americans do not know the true scope of the tracking and surveillance now taking place. Four simple questions need to be addressed: 1) What is happening to all the personal data being captured? 2) How long is it being retained? 3) To what extent is it being sold to third-party commercial vendors? 4) Is your “private,” personal data being provided to government law enforcement authorities?

* * *

Next time you're walking around a department store, keep in mind that you are being monitored and analyzed in two complementary ways. First, your in-store movements are being electronically tracked, recorded and analyzed; second, your data history is being captured, updated, sold, integrated with other database information and analyzed. The two dimensions of your 21st-century public “self,” your physical behavior and your digital communications, are now subject to nearly instantaneous and ceaseless monitoring.

[Sherman A1]

1. There is the old story about the grocery store that offered free peanuts

to all. At the end of the day the owner would check the floor for peanut shells and he could then determine where the "hot spots" were in his store.

[HiPointDem]

8. that is actually clever -- but doesn't involve collecting personal data or surveilling individuals,

just the group as a whole (or the peanut-eaters)

[Sherman A1]

10. As you said, it doesn't involve collecting personal data

but I always thought it was a good story and it does point out that this type of thing (albeit with much less intrusion and much less technology) has been going on for a very long time.

[HiPointDem]

12. now that i think about the story, though, it's not really that clever. because if you keep an

inventory record, you already know what people bought, and when. so it doesn't really provide any additional information.

and no, i don't think the peanuts, or inventory/sales records, are *anything* like what's being done now, which is surveillance of individual customers on nearly every level, including facial ID & tracking their movements in stores.

[Downwinder]

32. Won't be any lost children.

And no excuse for lines at the loo.

[HiPointDem]

33. well, won't that be lovely.

[jberryhill]

37. This store used facial ID too

That's because Sam Drucker knew everyone in Hooterville. Unfortunately, humans rapidly moved from tribal or clan living arrangements of dozens to dense and mobile populations of millions. What is interesting about the resulting alienation and depersonalization is that certain personality types actually prefer those conditions and resent technological means to restore personalization.

[HiPointDem]

45. technological means *don't* restore personalization. sam drucker knew everyone -- & everyone

knew sam.

that is not the case in the modern scenario. someone gets our info -- we don't get theirs or even know who 'they' are.

not only was there mutual knowledge in hooterville, there was also interaction & relationship on multiple levels. also not the case today.

[jberryhill]

49. Not completely, no...

But it was not that long ago that the bigger social complaint was of alienation and depersonalization.

Again, if the machine at the checkout counter spits out coupons for dog food instead of tampons, that's a mutual benefit. I buy dog food, but I don't buy tampons.

[HiPointDem]

55. the complaint is still alienation & depersonalization. your 'social benefit' is laughable. there

store coupons before they started tracking individual customers.

technology makes greater depersonalization & alienation possible, & concentrates wealth, power, and domination to a previously unimaginable extent.

[jberryhill]

56. And your social skills do not represent any society fit for humans

I am so glad that people whose response to other's points of view is mocking derision, are not in a majority yet.

[HiPointDem]

57. ironic statement in your case. statements that tout store coupons as a benefit of the surveillance

state deserve derision.

[pugetres]

2. I wonder if people really mind

They stay logged onto facebook and are tracked all across the internet. They "tag" their photos online so that merchants can now use facial recognition software to assess customers as they walk into their businesses.

I personally am leery about my personal info being datamined and sold so I keep social networking to a bare minimum but it doesn't seem to faze the average person.

[graham4anything]

3. This is not new. Anyone who uses a supermarket discount, or c/c or EZ pass or cellphone

You go to disney for 20 years now, and stay in a Disney hotel, they give you a room card that also allows every single thing purchased including restaurants and drinks from all but a few carts, to be paid with that card

they tell you, leave your wallet and other c/c in the hotel safe and sound, and just your room card to charge it

they know everything you purchase and send you promos througout the following year
tailored to what you did on your trip..

20 plus years now (since at least the late 1980s).
Used to go there alot and they knew

So, scary picture above aside(same ones used in those old movies) this is not anywhere near new news.

and with EZ pass and supermarkets knowing which toilet paper one uses, what is there to hide.
People who are not doing anything wrong, have nothing to hide.

Funny how the same articles and sources in the alt-media keep saying they want everything to be transparent, but yet, anything they themselves do should not be?

That type of thinking to me is so funny.

btw, the supermarkets give great discounts when using the card.
and for those with choices and a walmart is but one choice, people know they can get things so much cheaper in a supermmarket than in walmart, so one would think the anti-walmart crowd would love this.

(btw, goes to add, its a dangerous world out there, the more careful everyone is, the less dangerous it is).

[HiPointDem]

7. blah blah blah 'what, me worry'. quite in character. 'trust our dear leaders, they know best'

[Politicalboi]

9. They've solved a lot of crimes

From criminals who saved a buck on their murder supplies near the crime scene and their alibi doesn't check out. I think about tracking from time to time, but what can you do. And how much info can they store. Most peoples lives are boring, they want to find out what I'm doing, bring it on. this IS it. They are wasting their ad money for the most part with me.

[lastlib]

54. "How much info can they store?" It's virtually limitless.

[Politicalboi]

4. Happens here too

I shopped and bought something at Home Depot, and that ad keeps coming up about light bulbs. I just ignore the ads for the most part. I'm not a big shopper so ads don't really get to me unless they are funny. Doesn't mean I will buy their stuff either.

And Disneyland I suppose could require EVERYONE to wear these if you want to go into the park. Don't like it, don't go. This info gathering isn't worth worrying over. Nobody really knows how much of themselves have been exposed for sure. All you can do from here is think about if you want more junk e-mail by signing a petition or taking a survey, or using cash ALL the time.

[HiPointDem]

6. your claim that it's not worth worrying about is i think short-sighted. just because you can

still get around the tracking currently doesn't mean that will be the case in the future.

every person who says 'not worth worrying about' makes that future more likely.

now is actually the time to worry, and act.

[Politicalboi]

11. I think that is our future

What happens when money doesn't exist anymore. What then? We'll either have plastic cards, or eye scanners, or print readers.

[HiPointDem]

14. lean back & enjoy the boot stomping the face -- forever

[graham4anything]

15. btw, does that person realize that taking cash out of a bank is monitored by cameras?

[HiPointDem]

5. which is why i pay cash. i've never been to disneyland but if i were considering it, their little

wristband would dissuade me.

[graham4anything]

13. You do realize that if you click on alt-net links, they do the same thing, don't you?

Just clicking on pages(like the alt-net pages) brings up alt-net stuff.
You do realize that don't you?

You do realize they already know who is on any internet page and market toward you.

Do you go to sport events or concerts?
I go to Madison Square Garden (or the new Barkley Center) and for 40 years now, I have been frisked when I go in.
NYC cops line the outside, and uniformed police are inside

Now, in the 1970s/80s they were looking for booze(but didn't care if you smoked regular or pot for that matter as everyone did).
Now they also are looking to stop the booze but also to stop terrorists(yes, terrorists do exist).

Don't want to be frisked? Don't enter.

Don't want the TSA to scan you? Don't fly

Don't want internet ads? Don't be on the net.

Anonymous? Why is everything suppose to be transparent, but then some say they don't want it themselves. Seems the ones who whine about that, should be the most open to being transparent themselves.


If we all were free and open, then no one could have ulterior motives, terrorists wouldn't be able to plan and carry out "bad" things and the rightwing extremists wouldn't be able to listen to Rush 24/7/365 then shoot up theatres and supermarkets.

you can't have it both ways.

Me, I would rather go to concerts, sport events, and Disney if I choose to go
and have my right to a peaceful assembly at those places.
If they know what toilet paper I use, or how many times I go pee in the park, who cares.

smile, they are on candid camera themselves.

so I get an ad here, a little spam there.
Rather have that then some hacker hacking into me who is not transparent but anonymous
with ulterior motives

these gun people finally are transparent. We no longer need to worry if they want to overthrow the gov't or plot another mass shooting. We just need to keep worrying when/where.
We already know who/what/and how.

BTW, I use a c/c 99.9% of the time now. Only thing i don't use it for is the lotto, which is just a little fun. I know I have more chance of dying in a random shooting than winning the lotto.
But that's my choice, so I have to come up with a buck twice a week to pay for it.
Everything else, including a fifty cent newspaper is paid on a credit card.
You think they don't know I paid cash for the lotto?
The security cameras know.
Do you think I care?
NO I don't.

1984 was just a book and a movie.V for vengence was a movie. Les Miz a fake book and movie and play.
this is 2013.
the shooting in the school, supermarket, movie theatre, etc. are REAL and not movies.

I would rather eat breadcrumbs than follow them to what the person who leaves breadcrumbs wants me to find. (this is really just a slogan here, as I no longer eat much fried food,therefore no breadcrumbs at all eaten by me).

or as #6 said
Be seeing you.

[HiPointDem]

16. i assume everything i do online is tracked and logged somewhere. which is why i don't buy

anything online or put any of my personal info online or register at sites like facebook. i don't buy lotto tickets, I don't go to commercial sports events or big concerts, i don't do any of that crap. i don't find those things interesting.

i use my computer primarily for reading and research and my interests are wide and contradictory, one could say incoherent, like your posts.

going to a corporate ball game = 'right to peaceably assemble'?

it is to laugh.

[graham4anything]

17. it is my pursuit of happiness.Like bowling. Books are corporate too. So are internet bloggers.

Last edited Thu Jan 17, 2013, 04:18 PM - Edit history (2)

I go to little league ball games and minor league ball games.
For decades. Not for money. For enjoyment.

You do realize that reading a book is published by some company who wish to make money.
Bloggers are paid (wish I was paid btw).

they are the equivelant of an op-ed writer. Maureen Dowd probably makes a million dollars
Is her opinion any more valid than mine? (please send a million to me).

And gotta say, the internet connections(no matter if at office, home, in a cafe or book store), are given to us by companies that want to make a profit any way they can.

I don't sweat these things.

I have gone to amusement parks since I was little. Disneyworld wasn't around, and Disneyland when it was built, was 3000 miles away so never went there.

Went bowling, went to ball games, played little league (and darn it, yup, even back then we probably (I can't say I remember for sure), did have a patch for the local company that made the uniforms and sponsored us(little league is not free). And Kids love patches.
but then, we bought ice cream cones that were made by a profit company, and drank Coke out of a green bottle(tasted better back then).

and played ball in NYC with those little pink spaldeens (manufactured of course we know now by one of the biggest sporting good makers in the world Spalding).

and we smoked back then cigarettes made by major corporations weren't they?

You can't outrun it. It was always there in some form or other.

and to attempt to outrun it means imprisoning oneself (IMHO) and not being free to enjoy whatever there is to enjoy(each person has their own enjoyments, it is true).

and to attempt to leave something for those later on to enjoy.

as the late Richard Carlson wrote and said Don't sweat the small stuff, after all, its all small stuff.(corny? Yes, but in retrospect, true).

[HiPointDem]

18. Do little league games now have body searches? Maybe the bloggers *you* read are corporate.

No, the Orwellian state isn't 'small stuff' & wayne dyer is a fool. the entire 'self-improvement' industry is for the insecure, narcissistic fools created by the reign of corporate consumer capitalism.

[graham4anything]

21. Did the WTC get blown up? Did Okla. City get blown up? Did 26 die in a school?

I would rather be searched then blown up.

all bloggers sell things and make money
(or have a rich family they can mooch off of.)

Being that they need to pay bills and eat

Any blogger or writer, wants to be bigger.
A blogger would die for the opportunity to have the forum a Maureen Dowd or Frank Rich had.

Look at say Chuck Todd or nate Silver.
two oddsmakers becoming superstars.

Sure some have not survived. I cry for the Abbie Hoffman's who decided to chuck it in instead of preservere and become a voice in 2013.

And any place that does not have security now, is just one shooting event away from having it.
But then auto makers know a part is broken. But 1, 10, 100, 1000 people die and they don't have a massive recall.
But there is an insurance actuary number where, once hit, they have a recall. Because it costs more at that point in doling out payments, than to just recall all of them so the 1001st person doesn't die.

Wars have been going on since day one of life itself
Expecting it to end in one 4 year term forgets so many things, among which the other side still exists

and instead of attempting to rid the world by voting out the Daryl Isaas, one wants to side with them
and stereotype all rich people as bad insted of having those help.

money is only bad if used for bad things
money is good if used for good things

and these alt-bloggers end up like Kolchak, finding a monster a week to survive.

but saying one shouldn't have fun because someone is making money on the other side of the camera, means one can't have fun.
Ignore the camera, or wave to it. Or spit at it.
But the camera will remain there in any case, so might as well enjoy oneself.

People complain about health costs, yet, a little enjoyment makes for less health costs
(one reason the French are much healthier and have a better health system than we do.)

[HiPointDem]

25. you're boring me

[graham4anything]

26. guess you don't have to hit reply.

[jberryhill]

38. But that would miss the point

This poster gets off on nasty little put downs of anyone who doesn't share the alarmism over, of all things, Disneyland trying to improve personalization of a mass commercial attraction. I wouldn't be caught dead in a theme park in the first place, and that's probably one good reason why my online experience isn't cluttered with ads trying to persuade me to do so. This person thinks that the world is a better place if advertisers spend money selling tampons to single men. Or something.

[marions ghost]

31. See how a society of guns controls us

and makes us accept surveillance everywhere? Companies that gather data and monitor people love the gun culture.

You gravely underestimate the implications of constant and invasive surveillance.

[graham4anything]

39. they did something about hijacks, they did something about buildings in big city

so it proves more security is best

and even with traffic cameras, the proof is people going through red lights or making illegal turns

the bicyclist and the pedestrian saved, values that.

Israel is safer, and they have soldiers with guns all over.

Federal security is alot better than Zimmerman's.
(and please don't post about Ohio State 50 years ago).

[marions ghost]

41. I will make a statement that I'm sure you don't agree with

so just take it as the opposite point of view to yours. We will never agree.

NO LEVEL of "security" (however you define it) will keep you safe. The more a society needs to be watched and monitored--the more we become imprisoned. Nothing you could say to me would ever "prove" that more security is best. You may even live to regret the level of danger that such constant surveillance presents to us.
It is indicative of a society breaking down.

Bottom line--we are in NO way safer than we were 50 years ago.

[graham4anything]

47. That is what is great, we can all have our opinions, but guns do kill and don't make things safer

if everyone was equal, then there would be no problems

petty street crime, crimes of opportunity, gang crimes can be stopped with jobs, dollars and
setting examples.(after new laws, zero tolerance would stop most crimes above.) So would legalizing and heavily taxing drugs.
however, the mass shootings need more to stop it as those are people looking to overthrow the government, who can't be bought off with money.
But you can make them keep it in their homes

but if you could get guns off the street 100%, then you will need cameras and sensors
and all to keep making sure no one sneaks one in

and besides, individuals with cell phone cameras film everything anyhow
and cops with cameras filming in their cars have picked up cop abuse
so it's looking at things from glass half full and glass half empty

[MADem]

44. When did Dr. Dyer die?

THIS Dr. Dyer? He's still alive...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_Dyer

[graham4anything]

48. My memory is going. I meant Dr. Richard Carlson, author of "Don't sweat the small stuff"

very sorry, did not mean Dr. Wayne Dyer.

Got the correct book and title, wrong author.

No harm meant. i edited above.

And Dr. Richard Carlson died at 45 (see below).
very sorry.
short bio
wiki

Richard Carlson Ph.D. (May 16, 1961 – December 13, 2006) was an American author, psychotherapist, and motivational speaker, who rose to fame with the success of his book, Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all Small Stuff (1997), which became one of the fastest-selling books of all time and made publishing history as USA Todays bestselling book for two consecutive years.[1] It also spent over 101 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, and was published in 135 countries, and translated into Latvian, Polish, Icelandic, Serbian and 26 other languages;[2] thereafter Carlson went on to write 20 books

Carlson died on December 13, 2006, of a pulmonary embolism during a flight from San Francisco to New York, while on a promotion tour for his book Don’t Get Scrooged: How to Thrive in a World Full of Obnoxious, Incompetent, Arrogant and Downright Mean-Spirited People (2006).[7] He was survived by his wife, Kristine Carlson, and their two teenage daughters, Jasmine and Kenna; two sisters, Kathleen Carlson Mowris of Olympic Village, California and Anna Carlson of La Selva Beach, California.; and his parents, Barbara and Don Carlson of Orinda, California.

[MADem]

50. A brain fart--I have them on occasion, myself!

What a crappy way to go for that Carlson gent.

[graham4anything]

53. Reminds people to walk around a little on a flight or longer car or train ride

[BuelahWitch]

20. So what link did I click on

that has caused me to be pummeled with penis enlargement spam for the past 10 years? I have no use for this product, as I have no penis, but they seem to find me at all of my emails. I don't click on porn sites, sport sites or even Home Depot, so I'm really curious as to whose tracking is really messed up.
I hope Disney is not hooking up with those guys for their tracking!

[graham4anything]

22. pun not intended, but I think those ads are Universal, not Disney. (ha ha ha).

[1monster]

24. I noticed recently that on Pogo Tumble Bees that all advertising relates to

items I've viewed on online stores. Specific items I've looked at, but not purchased. Like the Star Trek cuff links on amazon.com, book titles on Barnes and Noble, and furniture on some place or another that I've browsed. I don't do too much online shopping, so their offerings stay the same for a loooonnnnggg time.

[quaker bill]

19. Welcome to the world of massive data

Why did the Obama tech team hire analysts from the retail sector? Because they have experience successfully manipulating and deriving useful information from massive data sets related to people's behavior. There is no shortage of data about anything and most of it can be purchased for a fee. The question is whether your preference in brand of toilet paper predicts voting behavior, or perhaps it is the folks who buy white wine and watch many "House" re-runs that you are after...

Massive data is out there. The problem is that the data set is so large that the real skill becomes being able to sort out "the signal from the noise".

[Demo_Chris]

23. Customer information is not always sinister, for example...

For a while I owned a retail business selling cheap fashion jewelry.

To the best that we were able, we tracked every customer in the store, where they paused, where they looked, what products they noticed and which they did not. We then modified product placements to test further.

For example: 90 out of 100 customers seem to bypass the bracelets in the corner. Is it the bracelets or the way the corner is designed? Let's test this by placing one off our most popular products in that corner to see what happens.

We did further tests with customer throughput, seeing how the placement of free standing displays influenced customer traffic.

The point of all these tests was to make our customer shopping experience as pleasant as possible, and to design display layouts that would allow every customer to notice the maximum selection in the easiest manner we could manage. Obviously, we didn't do this because we are super nice, but to earn our customer's money.

[tclambert]

27. Welcome to the machine.

Where have you been? It's all right. We know where you've been.

What did you dream? It's all right. We told you what to dream.

[davidpdx]

28. This has been going on for some time now

The only difference is it is getting more sophisticated. I believe there was an article about the Obama campaign tracking information during the campaign from people participating in the campaign. My understanding is they only used the information in general terms, not to identify specific people. That doesn't mean it couldn't be done though. So it goes beyond just corporations.

[formercia]

29. Some Day, those who avoid the info gathering and pay cash

will be the ones watched, the old-fashioned way, Avoiding the system just marks you as being suspicious.

Real pro-spooks know how to get around that by following normal behavior patterns and integrating their operational activities within their normal behavior. Real Terrorists know this too.

[liberal N proud]

30. Your every move is trackable

Where and when you buy gas for your car, what restaurants you eat, what web sites you visit.

Big Brother is real, just not like the movie 1984 portrayed - YET!

[Earth_First]

34. Sounds like a privacy advocacy group needs to do some monkeywrenching on the data...

Send in individuals to purposely skew the data by walking in circles throughout the park; erradicly using the entertainment and simply not moving for periods of time.

[FailureToCommunicate]

35. Oh dang, we DID shake Goofy's hand and not Snow White's on our trip to

Disneyland... We didn't mean anything by it. I just don't think we encountered her. Mickey was the strong silent type, same with Minnie. But she did shoot me a look when I asked why after all these years living next door to Mickey, they hadn't married.

We just re-watched "Enemy of the State" starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman. Talk about surveillance! Yikes!

[marmar]

36. k/r

[frogmarch]

40. Last night I visited a site that

sells 3D picture bookmarks. I looked at just one style and then left the site. This morning I rec’d a “Thank you for visiting us!” email from the site, with an order form showing the bookmark I looked at. :-O

[MADem]

42. Pay CASH for your ticket to Disneyworld. If they ask for your name, tell them you're

Claude Balls or Chastity Belt or some other childishly amusing moniker. If they want an address, give them the address of a police or gas station.

Pay cash or use credit, the store detective is always watching you in a retail joint. They're up in the ceiling, watching to make sure you don't go stealing anything.

[WiffenPoof]

43. This Is Only The Beginning...

Even here at DU you are being tracked.

About six months ago I kept noticing that there were a lot of RC (Radio Control) ads showing up here at DU. I commented to my wife that there was quite a coincidence in that I own a small RC business that buys RC supplies all of the time. After a day or two, the ads didn't stop. I began to wonder if there was any connection. Finally, I emailed the DU administrators and mentioned that some of their ads seemed targeted at me as an individual. I got a response back that basically said that they have no control over (some aspect) of the ads that appear here. My only conclusion is that my information was sold or distributed to other web sites resulting in me being "chased" by their owners. I can't even imagine what it will be like 10 years from now.

-Paige

[MineralMan]

46. I keep seeing ads that say, "Eat Recycled Food!"

"It's good for the environment, and OK for you." Does that mean something?

[backscatter712]

59. When you're on the street, don't piss off the Judge... n/t

[aristocles]

51. Completely unavoidable in a technology-based mass society

If one doesn't like it one can move to a cabin in Idaho (without Internet access) or to a Central American country like Costa Rica.

If a certain technology exists, it will be used. That's the technological imperative.

"We are the Borg. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Resistance is futile."

[In_The_Wind]

52. ~ K ~

[backscatter712]

58. Here in Denver, RTD (Public transit) just rolled out RFID based bus passes.

Being a student at the Auraria Campus, I was just issued an RFID card based bus/light-rail pass. Now when I board a bus or train, I have to tap the pass on the RFID reader. And I imagine all that info about where I board public transit goes in a database...

[Warren DeMontague]

60. Every time you pick your nose at Disneyland, you are being watched in HD by 12 cameras.

Thats not new news.

[MicaelS]

61. You can have my Kroger Card when you pry it from ...

My cold dead hand. Seriously. Kroger is a great place to shop, the employees are great, it's a union company, the prices are great, the stores are clean. So they track everything I buy, big deal. In essence they are paying me to do that with the money I save, and the coupons they send me.