Comment by rectang
8 years ago
> Does it cause "great harm" for private businesses to have access to this?
Wide availability of tracking data facilitates domestic violence and stalking, for starters.
Say that someone gets killed by their ex who found them through tracking data leaked by some irresponsible and/or profiteering company. How do we hold that company accountable? How can we prove that it was them who leaked the data, when it's everywhere?
We can't hold the credit authorities like Equifax accountable today for the identity theft they facilitate. This is the same problem. The aggregation of our individual data by companies causes massive negative externalities, borne by individuals.
Another example: widespread availability of tracking data lets burglars know when they should break in and rob you.
Again, this cost is not borne by the data aggregator -- it's a negative externality borne by individual citizens. Good luck suing them.