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Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

latimes.com

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Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#121

Post by iDemonix »

evolve2k wrote: post #119

> The new tracking system was created in consultation with “incredibly smart people” to ensure it's not invasive. He described the program as “secure and privacy safe.” It's not "incredibly smart people" you need; it's "highly ethical people".

Very important point. In my workplace, often the smartest engineers are so focused on doing smart things, they forget that the data they're dealing with belongs to, or identifies, people.

Got to make those yearly objectives/appraisals count though.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#122

Post by imron »

AznHisoka wrote: post #13
thinkling wrote: post #4

FTA: "Google says it has access to roughly 70% of U.S. credit and debit card transactions through partnerships with companies that track that data." Wow.

MasterCard and Visa not only make money from each credit card transaction but to add insult to injury, they make money selling that transaction data as well! That's what I call a ludicrous business.

Not sure if you meant lucrative. Ludicrous also works.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#123

Post by cobbzilla »

kevsim wrote: post #118
nsebban wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It also requires trivial opt-out and readability of the opt-ins. And it gives enough power to really control what companies are doing with people's data. And the fines are huge (up to 3% of the company's global gross amount) compared to what exists today.

Think it's actually 4%. Seriously huge fines

Just wait to see how the lawyers game these. my bet is no major corp ever pays a penalty that high, ever. there may be some egregious offender that gets caught with this, but not one of the big boys.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#124

Post by erik »

creepydata wrote: post #44
mattnewton wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They won't in the medium term because of how much they hate the credit card company's cut. 3% is a lot on an already low-margin transaction at Walmart.

Walmart wouldn't take credit if it wasn't financially sound for them to do so.

Walmart Canada has stopped accepting Visa due to the fees.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#125

Post by hagakure0c »

evolve2k wrote: post #119

> The new tracking system was created in consultation with “incredibly smart people” to ensure it's not invasive. He described the program as “secure and privacy safe.” It's not "incredibly smart people" you need; it's "highly ethical people".

Sooner or later people will start to revolt and either go back to use semi-anonymous cash or truly anonymous payment systems like bitcoin. Google and advertising will then be in the dark.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#127

Post by halflings »

evolve2k wrote: post #119

> The new tracking system was created in consultation with “incredibly smart people” to ensure it's not invasive. He described the program as “secure and privacy safe.” It's not "incredibly smart people" you need; it's "highly ethical people".

What does that mean? The point behind that quote is that they're very aware of the privacy implications and took some of their best engineers to make sure things are well implemented and secure. The product in itself is clearly described here. It's not up to individual employees to be "trusted" with this type of data, as it must be encrypted at rest and all accesses audited etc.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#128

Post by tintor »

hagakure0c wrote: post #125
evolve2k wrote: post #119

> The new tracking system was created in consultation with “incredibly smart people” to ensure it's not invasive. He described the program as “secure and privacy safe.” It's not "incredibly smart people" you need; it's "highly ethical people".

Sooner or later people will start to revolt and either go back to use semi-anonymous cash or truly anonymous payment systems like bitcoin. Google and advertising will then be in the dark.

Bitcoin is not "truly anonymous" by default. All transactions are public and can be traced back to you, unless you use non-logging bitcoin mixers for every single transaction.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#129

Post by ddalex »

cobbzilla wrote: post #123
kevsim wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think it's actually 4%. Seriously huge fines

Just wait to see how the lawyers game these. my bet is no major corp ever pays a penalty that high, ever. there may be some egregious offender that gets caught with this, but not one of the big boys.

If I'm in debt to somebody 10.000, he owns me. If I'm in debt 10.000.000, I own him. Huge fines for behemoths will always be negotiated.

Nevertheless, it's a strong incentive for even the biggest companies to follow the law. EU has the capability and desire to enforce huge fines to make sure data protection laws are obeyed.

Re: Google starts tracking what people buy in physical stores

#130

Post by dx034 »

cobbzilla wrote: post #123
kevsim wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think it's actually 4%. Seriously huge fines

Just wait to see how the lawyers game these. my bet is no major corp ever pays a penalty that high, ever. there may be some egregious offender that gets caught with this, but not one of the big boys.

Fines in antitrust cases can already be huge so I would doubt that those fines could be gamed if regulators take it seriously. The alternative to paying a fine is being banned from the market, which for the EU is a big deal.
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