funsec mailing list archives
Re: WiFi advertising that follows you around
From: Dan Renner <dan () losangelescomputerhelp com>
Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 10:09:23 -0800
Richard M. Smith wrote: Date: Mon, 27 Mar 2006 11:46:02 -0500 From: "Richard M. Smith" <rms () bsf-llc com> Subject: [funsec] WiFi advertising that follows you around To: <funsec () linuxbox org> Message-ID: <014e01c651bd$eef5e900$0200a8c0@rms2> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060410/chester Google's Wi-Fi Privacy Ploy by JEFF CHESTER [posted online on March 24, 2006] The digital gold rush is on across America, as cities scramble to develop free or low-cost Wi-Fi zones. These public on-ramps to the Internet are designed to provide every citizen with a form of always-on, high-speed Internet access--at the playground, in the office or at home--at low or nocost.
Dozens of communities large and small, in red states and blue, are either planning or currently constructing Wi-Fi systems. Community leaders--from Philadelphia; Houston; Columbia, South Carolina; and San Francisco, to name a few--recognize that creating a citywide Wi-Fi zone is not only vital for economic development and public safety but helps insure that Americans who can't now afford digital communications on their own can also tap in to the riches and convenience of the Internet. But there is no such thing as a freedigital lunch.
Consumers and public officials should have no illusions that what is being touted as a public benefit is also designed to spur the growth of a mobile marketing ecosystem <http://www.mmaglobal.com/modules/content/index.php?id=53> , an emerging field of electronic commerce that is expected to generate huge revenues for Google, Microsoft, AT&T and many others. Soon, wherever we wander, a ubiquitous online environment will follow us with ads and informationdovetailed to our interests and our geographic location.
Unless municipal leaders object, citizens and visitors will be subjected to intensive data-mining of their web searches, e-mail messages and other online activities are tracked, profiled and targeted. The inevitable consequences are an erosion of online privacy, potential new threats of surveillance by law enforcement agencies and private parties, and thegrowing commercialization of culture.
... "The inevitable consequences are an erosion of online privacy"??? When did that make a comeback? :-) ---------------------------------- Dan Renner President Los Angeles Computerhelp http://losangelescomputerhelp.com 818.352.8700 _______________________________________________ Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts. https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.
Current thread:
- WiFi advertising that follows you around Richard M. Smith (Mar 27)
- <Possible follow-ups>
- Re: WiFi advertising that follows you around Dan Renner (Mar 27)