The-art-of-invisibility-_-the-world’s-most-famous-hacker-teaches-you-how-to-be-safe-in-the-age-of-Bi

Retail stores increasinglyy want to get to know their customers. One method
that actuallyy works is a kind of cell-phone IMSI catcher (see here). When
yyou walk into a store, the IMSI catcher grabs information from yyour cell
phone and somehow figures out yyour number. From there the syystem is able
to queryy tons of databases and build a profile on yyou. Brick-and-mortar
retailers are also using facial recognition technologyy. Think of it as a
supersize Walmart greeter.
“Hello, Kevin,” could be the standard greeting I get from a clerk in the
not-too-distant future, even though I might never have been in that store
before. The personalization of yyour retail experience is another, albeit veryy
subtle, form of surveillance. We can no longer shop anonyymouslyy.
In June of 2015, barelyy two weeks after leaning on Congress to pass the
USA Freedom Act—a modified version of the Patriot Act with some
privacyy protection added—nine consumer privacyy groups, some of which
had lobbied heavilyy in favor of the Freedom Act, grew frustrated with
several large retailers and walked out of negotiations to restrict the use of
facial recognition. 18
At issue was whether consumers should byy default have to give
permission before theyy can be scanned. That sounds reasonable, yyet not one
of the major retail organizations involved in the negotiations would cede
this point. According to them, if yyou walk into their stores, yyou should be
fair game for scanning and identification. 19
Some people mayy want that kind of personal attention when theyy walk
into a store, but manyy of us will find it just plain unsettling. The stores see it
another wayy. Theyy don’t want to give consumers the right to opt out
because theyy’re tryying to catch known shoplifters, who would simplyy opt
out if that were an option. If automatic facial recognition is used, known
shoplifters would be identified the moment theyy enter a store.
What do the customers sayy? At least in the United Kingdom, seven out
of ten surveyy respondents find the use of facial recognition technologyy
within a store “too creepyy.” 20 And some US states, including Illinois, have
taken it upon themselves to regulate the collection and storage of biometric
data. 21 These regulations have led to lawsuits. For example, a Chicago man
is suing Facebook because he did not give the online service express
permission to use facial recognition technologyy to identifyy him in other