With regard to the above, I am drafting a letter to my local MP to canvass him to take steps to raise this matter in the Commons and propose the introduction of new legislation to curb/limit the introduction and use of such technology in our society.
The general outlay would be as follows and I would welcome any views, input that anyone has. Also, examples of where the scope of the act could be widened. For example, in the case of loyalty cards and points. To sign up for one of these is to give a supermarket entire access to your shopping data on almost a trojan basis.
Whatever happened to days of the Green Shield stamp. They came free without no exchange of details, etc. Anyway, that's something of a digression. Back to the main thrust:
The Invasive Technology & Retail Powers Act 2013
The intention of this act would be limit or curtail the invasive and predatory nature of new technologies and prevent the harvesting and profiling of individuals' personal data without their knowledge or consent.
That new techniques allow such exploitation fundamentally undermines the principle of the consumer as an independent agent free to make his or her own choices and to enter any retail premises without obligation or any technological intervention.
That it is possible makes it probable, so this legislation is designed to determine in common law that such practices shall be considered neither preferable or permissible.
To that end, this Act would recognise a new offence of 'virtual' molestation and aim to cover such eventualities as cannot be met by the likes of the Data Protection Act.
Below are set out just two examples of where the legislation may be applied
WiFi profiling of populace in public or public access spaces:
The act would curtail / limit the introduction of any static advise that would comb the wifi/bluetooth connections of passersby and exploit cookie technology on persons' mobile devices, ipads, laptops etc.
In store face scanning technology:
The act would make it illegal for any public premises to introduce scanning technology that profiles, for example, the customers in a queue at the bank or at a supermarket with a view to determining their age, race, gender for the purposes of targeting in-store advertising accordingly.
Other examples will include ........
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So, that's a bit of a start, but I fervently belief there has to be a turn in the tide. A lot of work was done in the 60s and the 70s to garner rights for the consumer thanks to the likes of the Consumer Association, but more and more, in pernicious ways, the retail sector is digging deeper and deeper into our pockets and there's a pressing to restore the status of citizens as customers with rights. Not cash cows.
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