Most people have at least given passing thought to the idea that our online movements are being tracked for commercial purposes, and that the tracking could just as well be used for other purposes in the future. Europe has already gone on record to limit the sharing of personal data, both online and off. Even here in the US, where we as a population have been relatively unconcerned about the details of who is tracking our website use and why, there are statutes providing limited protection to certain classes of personal data. That said, living offline is not a choice many of us (other than perhaps my father) are willing to make.
But what about your offline “privacy?” Those of us who carry Blackberries or iPhones already have an “always-on” tracking device available. One look at twitter or facebook provides a whole host of additional information about where you were doing what with whom, as do your EZ-pass records and credit-card swipes, to name just a few. When added to the host of other gizmos and gadgets we use on a daily basis it becomes pretty easy to track the average individual’s movements during any given day.
Obviously, most of us appreciate the convenience of these modern gadgets, even at the expense of some loss of what the Electronic Frontier Foundation calls “locational privacy.” The EFF just released a report on the various threats and opportunities inherent in that loss, for those inclined to know more. As for Dad, without even an ATM card to his name, his actions are still as private (if predictable) as they get.
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