Wow. Is anyone gullible enough to believe this is anything but a strike at google's ad business?
For an example of what could go wrong, look at the absolute debacle in europe when legislators tried to control cookie privacy with the EU cookie directive. On the eve of the first implementation deadline the UK pretty much told sites, "nevermind for a year", then literally 24 hours before that deadline, the ICO decided to implement implied consent. Site owners were left virtually clueless about what the actual law meant and how to comply. [1, 5]
Pubs that rely on advertising income will also be hurt. Empirically users throw virtual tantrums about paying money for content. The NYT has had an enormous fight to get people to pay.
Most people would be shocked at the amount of data that anyone who wants can purchase from Experian and a host of other companies. Where you live; how much you make; your credit rating; demographics such as age, gender, ethnicity; if you own your home, the value, and when you purchased; purchasing activity; what stores you shop at; what type of car you drive [2:4]. Mail order catalogs commonly trade your name, address, and purchase history between them (between different industries). Etc etc etc.
My politics run to the pretty far left and I think privacy is undervalued, but online behavior is a strange place to start. And to repeat it yet again: If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold -- blue_beetle.
Disclaimer: I work and have worked in online advertising, including for several companies that do behavioral targeting.
For an example of what could go wrong, look at the absolute debacle in europe when legislators tried to control cookie privacy with the EU cookie directive. On the eve of the first implementation deadline the UK pretty much told sites, "nevermind for a year", then literally 24 hours before that deadline, the ICO decided to implement implied consent. Site owners were left virtually clueless about what the actual law meant and how to comply. [1, 5]
Pubs that rely on advertising income will also be hurt. Empirically users throw virtual tantrums about paying money for content. The NYT has had an enormous fight to get people to pay.
Most people would be shocked at the amount of data that anyone who wants can purchase from Experian and a host of other companies. Where you live; how much you make; your credit rating; demographics such as age, gender, ethnicity; if you own your home, the value, and when you purchased; purchasing activity; what stores you shop at; what type of car you drive [2:4]. Mail order catalogs commonly trade your name, address, and purchase history between them (between different industries). Etc etc etc.
My politics run to the pretty far left and I think privacy is undervalued, but online behavior is a strange place to start. And to repeat it yet again: If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold -- blue_beetle.
Disclaimer: I work and have worked in online advertising, including for several companies that do behavioral targeting.
[1] http://speckyboy.com/2012/05/28/the-ico-amends-the-eu-cookie...
[2] http://www.experian.com/dataselect/dataselect.html
[3] http://www.experian.com/dataselect/ds-direct-marketing-lists...
[4] http://www.experian.com/automotive/auto-data.html
[5] http://blog.silktide.com/2012/05/dear-ico-this-is-why-web-de...