Are companies vying to control your home PC?
May 4, 2006

How much control do you have over your home computer? You bought it, it's sitting on a desk inside your home, you choose what software installed on it, right? Not so fast... MORE»

murmur categories: home, technology, privacy

tags: consumers consumer news consumerism computers PC DRM copyright security Sony technology

posted by Tessa | 13:11 PM (ET) | Permalink

Levis putting RFID chips in clothing tags
May 2, 2006

Levi Strauss & Co. has come under fire from a privacy group for putting radio-frequency identification chips (RFID) into consumers' pants... MORE»

murmur categories: services, technology, privacy

tags: consumers consumer news consumerism shopping RFID Levis privacy technology

posted by Tessa | 11:09 AM (ET) | Permalink

Mobile shredders drive home fraud prevention message
March 27, 2006

Police set up shredding trucks outside two stores in Alberta to encourage people to destroy documents containing personal information in one of many events during Fraud Prevention Month in Canada... MORE»

Artist takes RFID critique to the road
March 22, 2006

A B.C. artist is planning to hit the road this spring in a commercial transport truck loaded with her worldly possessions, each tagged with Radio Frequency Identification chips... MORE»

murmur categories: activism, technology, privacy

tags: consumers consumer news consumerism shopping RFID privacy technology art

posted by Tessa | 10:43 AM (ET) | Permalink

RFID shopping robots tested in Japan
February 14, 2006

A mall in Japan is testing a new shopping service: a fleet of RFID-enabled robots who can do everything from carry a shopper's bags to lead said shopper to sale items he/she might be interested in... MORE»

murmur categories: services, technology, privacy

tags: consumers consumer news consumerism shopping RFID privacy technology

posted by Tessa | 6:21 PM (ET) | Permalink

Fun with telemarketers
January 11, 2006

I love this. Someone in Amsterdam has created a fabulous anti-telemarketing “counter-script” that you can use the next time your phone rings in the middle of dinner and you’re confronted by the voice of someone with something to sell... MORE»

murmur categories: marketing, privacy, activism

tags: consumers consumer news consumerism telemarketing, marketing, activism, anti-telemarketing

posted by Tessa | 10:00 AM (ET) | Permalink

Privacy watchdogs decry Walgreens’ RFID plans
December 14, 2005

What may be the largest planned marketing deployment of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tracking to date is drawing criticism from privacy advocates, AdAge reports (registration req'd)... MORE»

murmur categories: technology, privacy, advertising/marketing

tags: consumers, consumer news, consumerism, RFID, marketing, privacy

posted 10:18 AM (ET) | Permalink

Most Americans can’t spot a phishing scam
December 8, 2005

Despite the attention paid by phishing scams in the media (including Marketplace), a new survey says the majority of Americans still can’t tell the difference between legitimate and scam e-mail... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 12:09 PM (ET) | Permalink

New surveillance bill would target cellphone and internet communications
November 16, 2005

The federal government has introduced a bill to make it easier for police and CSIS to monitor private cellphone conversations and communication on the internet... MORE»

murmur categories: technology, services, privacy

tags: consumers, consumer news, consumerism, cellphones, e-mail, surveillance, privacy, security

posted by Tessa | 9:39 AM (ET) | Permalink

How safe is your surfing?
November 7, 2005

Consumer Reports has released the results of a survey of American internet users which found that concern about identity theft is substantial, and is changing consumer behaviour in major ways... MORE»

murmur categories: privacy, technology

tags: consumers, consumer news, consumerism, privacy, internet

posted by Tessa | 2:08 PM (ET) | Permalink

RFID helping keep shelves stocked: Wal-Mart study
October 27, 2005

A new study says customers at Wal-Mart have benefited from the retailing giant’s introduction of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags on products in its stores... MORE»

murmur categories: privacy, technology

tags: consumers, consumer news, consumerism, RFID, Wal-Mart, products, packaging, privacy

posted by Tessa | 10:22 AM (ET) | Permalink

Skepticism has consequences: Have you opened a real e-mail from your bank lately?
October 25, 2005

PC Advisor reports that banks are having a problem communicating with their customers via e-mail. It seems some consumers have been so conditioned to be alert to ‘phishing’ scams (often involving banks, PayPal, etc.), that we automatically delete even legitimate mail from our own banks... MORE»

murmur categories: scams, privacy

tags: consumers, consumer news, consumerism, phishing, scams, banking

posted by Tessa | 11:33 AM (ET) | Permalink

New book on RFID lambastes marketing applications of ‘spy chips’
October 14, 2005

Ad Age has an interesting report (registration required) on a new book that lambastes potential marketing applications of Radio Frequency Identification chips (tiny tracking devices implanted in commercial products)... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 10:11 AM (ET) | Permalink

Starbucks files loyalty card patent application
April 18, 2005

Starbucks, the Seattle-based coffee cyclopean, has filed two intriguing patents relating to its loyalty card systems... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 1:11 PM (ET) | Permalink

Big brother’s watching and he wants you to buy that DVD player
April 6, 2005

How innocuous is that video camera perched on the wall in the department store? CNN has an interesting article about how closed circuit television surveillance systems could be used for market research... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 1:51 PM (ET) | Permalink

RFID technology won’t be regulated in U.S.
March 11, 2005

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission says it is going to let stores and suppliers self-regulate their use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags – and it will leave it to retailers and the RFID industry to educate consumers about use of the tags and data collected using the technology... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 11:00 AM (ET) | Permalink

Pizza, privacy and our neighbours to the south
February 24, 2005

The American Civil Liberties Union charges that the “United States is at risk of turning into a full-fledged surveillance society.” The group argues that the prevalence of surveillance-enabling technologies, combined with Bush administration’s “weakening in legal restraints that protect our privacy,” threaten consumer privacy... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 10:13 AM (ET) | Permalink

European consumers worry about use of RFID
February 15, 2005

Shoppers in Europe say they’re concerned about the use of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags in stores, the BBC reports... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 10:38 AM (ET) | Permalink

Loyalty card data used to charge wrong man with arson
February 7, 2005

Late last summer, attempted arson charges were filed against a Washington firefighter after police traced records of his family’s supermarket purchases to the same type of fire starter used in the crime... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 11:50 AM (ET) | Permalink

Identity theft tops FTC’s list of consumer complaints
February 1, 2005

Americans lost more than $548 million to identity theft and consumer fraud last year, according to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 12:58 PM (ET) | Permalink

On hold? Be careful what you say
January 25, 2005

You’ve called a customer support line and heard a recording that says, “this call may be monitored.”... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 9:24 AM (ET) | Permalink

Pub-crawling with Big Brother
January 18, 2005

A nightclub in Glasgow is set to offer patrons the option of having a microchip implanted in their arm that will obviate the need to carry their wallet or queue for entry... MORE»

posted by Tessa | 10:30 AM (ET) | Permalink

Camera phone etiquette
December 14, 2004

Once upon a time, a phone was just a phone. I don't mean to diminish Alexander Graham Bell's tireless work (see The Greatest Canadian for more on his accomplishments), but one wonders if he'd even recognize his invention if he saw it today.

Today phones are mobile. They more often play bad show tunes than ring. You can use them to surf the web, play a game of Tetris, and snap photos -sometimes even videos- of the people and places you encounter through your day...

But along with these new options available at consumers' fingertips via their cell phones come some challenges of ethics, privacy and common decency.

Recently, the Consumer Electronics Association (a trade group for gadget makers of all types) published a set of voluntary guidelines for consumers that urge 'responsible use' of the photo/video capabilities offered by today's phones.

The "Camera Phone Code of Conduct" [PDF] includes seven rules meant to balance digital imaging ubiquity with privacy and other concerns. And while the guidelines are only voluntary, the CEA hopes the code will promote civility between cell phone users and those around them.

More information is available at the Association's website.

posted by Tessa (Online Producer, Marketplace) | 2:22 PM (ET)

Keeping track of the kids ... with RFID
December 13, 2004

'Gotcha!' is a 'child monitoring system' based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. Basically, a palm-sized unit is clipped on the child and a second on the parent. If the curious kid wanders "beyond the adjustable, predetermined safety perimeter," the system alerts the parent with a shrill alarm.

It all sounds fairly innocuous, but if you do a web search under "RFID" and "privacy" you'll see RFID technology -and the ubiquitous applications being developed for it- is piquing the concern of privacy watchers and putting its advocates on the defensive.

posted by Tessa (Online Producer, Marketplace) | 12:40 PM (ET)

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