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Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

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Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#71

Post by lkschubert8 »

finnh wrote: post #38
Enginerrrd wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ostensibly... But if you ever pay with a card, it's quite likely those with the data will be able to correlate your cash purchases with the card purchase and thus identify you.

How? Unless you input a form of ID (like a telephone number in a loyalty program) I don't see how a cash transaction can be linked to you at all. It's not like your cash purchase of 58.32kr has a match 578.32 kr withdrawal; that cash was taken from an ATM in a large, round-number bundle.

I think they are more likely referring to being able to create a fingerprint of what you purchase. If you purchase via card enough times its not unreasonable that a model could be created to link your cash transactions back to you.

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#72

Post by axg11 »

cuteboy19 wrote: post #18
Havoc wrote: post #12

Open to abuse & certainly not privacy friendly, but in a hypothetical world where governments can be trusted on that it seems very plausible that it could be a social plus. i.e. You can probably spot trends like person X spends a huge amount of their pay on nappies and babyfood...probably could do with some additional social help. Nordic countries probably come closest to said hypothetical but still seems kinda dicey

Or people can just ask for help if they need it

The people in society who need help the most often have the least trust in government and don't have the means to understand and navigate programmes that could help them.

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#73

Post by ekianjo »

gonzo41 wrote: post #54
ekianjo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Please consult the official list for alternatives.” More likely a new way to tax stuff that the government does not like. Eating too much red-meat from methane-producing cows? Extra climate change tax for you!

They should probably think about the Natural Gas that makes up 60 % of the total value of Norway's exports before they go virtue signalling to people eating meat from farms that use tractors.

> They should probably think about...

Problem is hypocrisy is hardly a reason that you can use against those in power.

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#74

Post by jimkleiber »

throwaway4aday wrote: post #44
mateo1 wrote: post #29

People seem to suddenly forget that these transactions are already tracked and individually linked to you. Should we allow anyone to collect that data except democratically elected governments? What's the logic behind this?

If you're talking about the tracking done by reward systems then that's a voluntary agreement that people enter into. You can choose not to use a rewards program. As far as I know, if you use a credit card they only know the total of how much you spent and once again you can choose not to use a credit card or bank card and pay with cash if you wish. This proposed data collection has no opt out option. It's kind of ex…

What if the government said it was optional, but those who sign up get a 2% discount on their taxes? Would you find that more acceptable?

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#75

Post by madeofpalk »

monkeybutton wrote: post #53
tloriato wrote: post #9

“Hello #3576. You have reached your 1kg monthly limit of natural meat. Please consult the official list for alternatives.”

Or "you've reached your monthly quota of alcohol purchases". Which isn't far fetched at all! In parts of Canada, up into the 50s, you had to bring your permit booklet to buy alcohol from state operated stores where they recorded your purchases: https://www.tvo.org/article/buzzkillers-a-brief-history-of-t...

I mean,

> Vinmonopolet (English: The Wine Monopoly), symbolized by Ⓥ and colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the only company allowed to sell beverages containing an alcohol content higher than 4.75% in Norway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinmonopolet

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#76

Post by MontyCarloHall »

Given that this is Norway, the cynic in me thinks this is not about getting better demographic data as claimed, but rather to lay the groundwork for progressive sales taxes: your sales tax rate (potentially only for certain items) increases relative to your income and/or consumption habits. If this were just about demographics, it would be relatively straightforward to anonymize purchase records.

(Massive privacy implications aside, I don't necessarily disagree with progressive sales taxation.)

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#77

Post by hutzlibu »

JohnJamesRambo wrote: post #45
charlieyu1 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In most countries, paying in cash is a thing. And I try to avoid paying with cards or e-payment as much as I can

You must have hella change laying around.

My bank in germany has a machine, where I can put them in to be transfered to my account. (but I think I only ever did that once)

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#79

Post by ekianjo »

867-5309 wrote: post #56
ekianjo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Please consult the official list for alternatives.” More likely a new way to tax stuff that the government does not like. Eating too much red-meat from methane-producing cows? Extra climate change tax for you!

this would arguably be a great thing

Let's not stop there and let's profile people on everything they purchase and increase their taxes on everything that's not remotely considered healthy enough, because you know, they increase the burden on the whole society!

That's the recipe for the abolition of individual freedom.

Re: Norway to track all supermarket purchases?

#80

Post by InvaderFizz »

finnh wrote: post #38
Enginerrrd wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ostensibly... But if you ever pay with a card, it's quite likely those with the data will be able to correlate your cash purchases with the card purchase and thus identify you.

How? Unless you input a form of ID (like a telephone number in a loyalty program) I don't see how a cash transaction can be linked to you at all. It's not like your cash purchase of 58.32kr has a match 578.32 kr withdrawal; that cash was taken from an ATM in a large, round-number bundle.

I believe the reference is to utilizing pattern matching in the items and quantities purchased. We are creatures of habit and tend to repeat the same activities and purchases.
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