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Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

wsj.com

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Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#61

Post by Raphmedia »

gnicholas wrote: post #52
oddlyaromatic wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>"what I've bought at in the past year". They get so much more than that. If you use a credit card at the store, the record now knows about this card, and any other credit card you have ever used while using that rewards program. This can all then be connected to other databases that track personal credit card spending in similar ways. A surprisingly detailed profile is quite likely to be out there on all of us, even…

I believe it is illegal (at least in some states) to use the card information for anything other than processing the payment. That is, I believe they cannot use it to track you and your purchase. This is one of the main reasons there are loyalty cards — to get you to explicitly consent to tracking. edit: If they are allowed to track based on credit card, this would be a good reason to use Apple Pay, or some other pay…

Assign a GUID to card numbers. Use that GUID for tracking purpose.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#62

Post by victor106 »

From the article

"For every $300 customers spend on their Verizon bills, they receive one Up credit, which can be used for rewards such as Uber rides, four free months of Apple Music or chances to win tickets to see performers such as Lady Gaga."

"Verizon makes it clear during the sign-up process what data consumers are giving up: Information about their demographics and interests, what websites they visit, what apps and features they use, and their location."

- signup for it and use a VPN. You get all the benefits with sharing minimal data.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#63

Post by pmiller2 »

cratermoon wrote: post #43
unclebucknasty wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nyah, they still have a singular mission to make money for their shareholders. But, if we started rewarding companies with our business when they exhibit good behavior, that might move the needle.

> Nyah, they still have a singular mission to make money for their shareholders. That's a myth. The idea was invented by Milton Friedman and the Chicago School economists in the 1970s. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/harold-meyerson-the-...

Not unless they hopped in their time machine and went back to infiltrate the Michigan Supreme Court in 1919. Dodge v. Ford Motor Company[0] established the principle in law almost 100 years ago.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_v._Ford_Motor_Co.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#64

Post by pmiller2 »

ryan-c wrote: post #35
RealSpartacus wrote: post #24

At least with Verizon you get something out of it. AT&T just charges you extra if you want privacy.

AFAIK, AT&T stopped doing that. They claim not to be doing the snooping on anyone now, but it's AT&T...

Ah, yes, AT&T, of Room 641a fame[0].

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#65

Post by sp332 »

victor106 wrote: post #62

From the article "For every $300 customers spend on their Verizon bills, they receive one Up credit, which can be used for rewards such as Uber rides, four free months of Apple Music or chances to win tickets to see performers such as Lady Gaga." "Verizon makes it clear during the sign-up process what data consumers are giving up: Information about their demographics and interests, what websites they visit, what apps…

That only solves one of the issues listed. It won't help with location, demographics, or what apps you use.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#66

Post by pmiller2 »

wlesieutre wrote: post #60
pmiller2 wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The key words in the GP post were not "SV."

Did we read the same comment? > I'm sure SV is working hard to chip them, and do all sorts of other things to take away every ounce of privacy they have. It's pretty clear how someone would read that as an accusation of worker suppression being SV's fault. Sure, privacy is the general topic, but the whole comment was about invading privacy with "SV tech".

Cross out the words SV. Does the post retain its essential meaning? Yes: tech is being used to suppress privacy. It doesn't much matter if it comes from SV, Japan, or the moon.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#67

Post by DannyBee »

marsRoverDev wrote: post #10
iancarroll wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Verizon is US-only; the GDPR doesn’t seem applicable.

It is applicable if Verizon have a single EU citizen on their books, which they do; if the EU wish to pursue them I'm sure there is some way they could be held accountable. I am not so sure that american companies can just "hide" from this, they are actually quite exposed. Delta airlines, for example, appear to be quite worried by it internally, and are making changes to suit.

"I am not so sure that american companies can just "hide" from this, they are actually quite exposed. Delta airlines, for example, appear to be quite worried by it internally, and are making changes to suit. "

Certainly you realize there is a give and take here. The EU needs the businesses too. The EU is not powerful enough on it's own to just do whatever it wants. So they aren't going to go after these kinds of weird cases at first, because it would generate a large business backlash.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#68

Post by SN76477 »

ArtCreator wrote: post #21

This is particularly messed up because you know poorer people will take this option so they can afford their next phone or device. It preys on lower-income individuals unaware of what is going on. People who generally aren't aware of what rights are being tossed out, or may not even have the luxury to put personal rights above cost.

This is my fear for the future that all companies will adopt a similar system. Products will only be available to the rich, unless you submit to identification practices.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#69

Post by chadgeidel »

joezydeco wrote: post #31
chadgeidel wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's similar to other rewards programs but "Customers must give the carrier access to their web-browsing history, app usage and location data" is a lot more information about me than "what I've bought at in the past year".

Are you sure about that? https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-targ... "As [Target's] computers crawled through the data, he was able to identify about 25 products that, when analyzed together, allowed him to assign each shopper a “pregnancy prediction” score. More important, he could also estimate her due date to within a small window, so Target could send coupons timed to very specific stages of h…

I remember that story well. I still assert that someone could find out EVEN MORE with my web history and location data.

Re: Verizon Up offers rewards in exchange for customers’ personal information

#70

Post by wlesieutre »

pmiller2 wrote: post #66
wlesieutre wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did we read the same comment? > I'm sure SV is working hard to chip them, and do all sorts of other things to take away every ounce of privacy they have. It's pretty clear how someone would read that as an accusation of worker suppression being SV's fault. Sure, privacy is the general topic, but the whole comment was about invading privacy with "SV tech".

Cross out the words SV. Does the post retain its essential meaning? Yes: tech is being used to suppress privacy. It doesn't much matter if it comes from SV, Japan, or the moon.

It goes from being a post blaming problems on SV to a post pointing out that there are problems. I like it better with SV removed, but that's not what the post is.
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