The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: Are We the Consumers, Or Are We the Product?

Very interesting point below: can we expect companies that collect and 'sell' our data to advertisers to really offer a 'do no track' button when that is the deal we made to use their services in the first place?The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights: Are We the Consumers, Or Are We the Product? - 

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-02-23/the-consumer-privacy-bill-of-rights-are-we-the-consumers-or-are-we-the-product

We’re not being honest with ourselves. And by “we” I mean consumers, those whose privacy the President, Google, and the DAA would protect. Google, Pandora, Facebook—each offers value in exchange for no money. This is not to lionize these three companies, because they’re not doing the Lord’s work out of love for mankind. They are companies, and soon all three will be answerable to shareholders. This is not a bad thing, but we shouldn’t pretend it’s not a thing.

What’s important to remember in this discussion is that we are not their customers. We are their product. Or, rather, when we use their services for free, information about our habits, friends, and preferences becomes their product, which they then sell to the companies of the Digital Advertising Alliance—their customers. When we demand that they not track us, remember us, store our information, or take notice of what we like, we are in fact telling them to give us something for nothing. That’s not how business works.
Gerd Leonhard
CEO www.thefuturesagency.com 

www.twitter.com/gleonhard 

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