Comment by r0h1n
13 years ago
If the data sending wasn't creepy enough, LG's response to the author's letter takes the cake - they tell him to contact the retailer!
"The advice we have been given is that unfortunately as you accepted the Terms and Conditions on your TV, your concerns would be best directed to the retailer. We understand you feel you should have been made aware of these T's and C's at the point of sale, and for obvious reasons LG are unable to pass comment on their actions."
Next time I buy a loaf of bread I shall ask for the terms and conditions, just to be sure...
You joke but I can totally imagine a future where there are embedded sensors in the bread that transmit local conditions and (after ingestion) health/medical data.
Such a loaf could be given away free if the data collected could be repackaged and access to it sold to the highest bidder (I'm thinking pharma companies might pay).
A (imho insidious) way to get this accepted by the public would be to target humanitarian efforts first. Tracking health and disease in refugee populations is a real problem, so this system could offer tangible benefits. The refugees aren't really in a position to complain about privacy aspects and it'd be unpalatable for anyone to try a cost/benefit analysis when considering immediate survival against future privacy concerns (esp when it's framed from the point of view of saving a child -- as it usually is). Once this is considered 'normal' in such situations, it could be a short hop (or slippery slope?) to the supermarket.
If you think this is ridiculous, please remember that there was once a time when having robots read our email was considered hugely invasive by much of the public (Gmail launch).
I have an idea for a novel about this, I'm just not a good writer.
Basically, you ingest food and something in it collects data and can show you advertisements (or whatever) based on your eating habits. You wouldn't even have to know you've eaten the stuff (the nano-machines or whatever) but you'd start seeing ads because the nano-machines have attached themselves to your eyes and are creating images for you to see. How do you know what's real, then?
We don't have that technology yet (AFAIK), but this is just one step beyond a few current technologies (Google Glass + nano-machines?) and an extension of the path of privacy invasion via technology we're currently on.
This might just sound like crazy science fiction paranoia but I'm pretty sure we'll see something like this happen in the next 100 years.
Doesn't seem too far fetched...
By removing the sealed packaging on this loaf of bread, you agree to the following terms and conditions:
-- 10 pages of terms and conditions in tiny print condensed to fit on the packaging of a loaf of bread --
Never said it was ridiculous.
Just joking about today. Of course it will become mainstream but by then we shall all be conscious of it.
I hope...
The 'save the children' attitude will kill us all, yes.
I read this as: "Please organize a class action lawsuit if you have any further concerns."
The problem for LG is: more than 0 people do do that.
That's the UK law if you have a faulty product.
It is not, however, the UK law on data protection.
And if LG's argument is that the software that comes with the TV has some sort of licence agreement that customers must accept before using it, that's another whole can of worms.
Please let them try to fight this in a court high enough to set a precedent. Making an example of LG under the various consumer protection laws might be easier than taking on a dedicated software company.
We are well overdue for a heavyweight case in the UK to prove that vendors selling a device for a well understood purpose can't get away with sneaking terms into their legal weasel words about DRM or spyware or introducing security vulnerabilities or rights of physical access for audit purposes or various other abuses that really have nothing to do with what the customer bought the device for.