Saturday, March 3, 2007

Concurring Opinions: The Rise of Customer Blacklists Blacklists appear to be the rage these days. With the ease of storing and sharing personal information -- coupled with lax privacy law restrictions on such activities -- companies can increasingly create blacklists of bad customers. In this article from the Ottawa Citizen, hotels in Australia and Canada (and soon the United States) are signing up for a service that compiles a blacklist against "bad" hotel guests: 11:55:39 PM

Telco customers at risk for online privacy breach. Telco customers at risk for online privacy breach. A study released by the Customer Respect Group indicates that telecommunications companies are slipping when it comes to customer privacy, especially in comparison to retail and high-tech industries. A majority of companies surveyed were dound to ask for excessive, inappropriate personal data. [Computerworld Privacy News] 11:51:07 PM

Hartford Courant - Best Buy Confirms It Has Secret Website Under pressure from state investigators, Best Buy is now confirming my reporting that its stores have a secret intranet site that has been used to block some consumers from getting cheaper prices advertised on BestBuy.com. Company spokesman Justin Barber, who in early February denied the existence of the internal website that could be accessed only by employees, says his company is "cooperating fully" with the state attorney general's investigation. Barber insists that the company never intended to mislead customers. State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal ordered the investigation into Best Buy's practices on Feb. 9 after my column disclosed the website and showed how employees at two Connecticut stores used it to deny customers a $150 discount on a computer advertised on BestBuy.com. Blumenthal said Wednesday that Best Buy has also confirmed to his office the existence of the intranet site, but has so far failed to give clear answers about its purpose and use. "Their responses seem to raise as many questions as they answer," Blumenthal said in an interview. "Their answers are less than crystal clear." 11:26:10 PM

RIAA's 'Expert' Witness Testimony Now Online. RIAA's 'Expert' Witness Testimony Now Online.   NewYorkCountryLawyer writes  "The online community now has an opportunity to see the fruits of its labor. Back in December, the Slashdot ('What Questions Would You Ask an RIAA Expert?') and Groklaw ('Another Lawyer Would Like to Pick Your Brain, Please') communities were asked for their input on possible questions to pose to the RIAA's 'expert'. Dr. Doug Jacobson of Iowa State University, was scheduled to be deposed in February in UMG v. Lindor, for the first time in any RIAA case. Ms. Lindor's lawyers were flooded with about 1400 responses. The deposition of Dr. Jacobson went forward on February 23, 2007, and the transcript is now available online (pdf) (ascii). Ray Beckerman, one of Ms. Lindor's attorneys, had this comment: 'We are deeply grateful to the community for reviewing our request, for giving us thoughts and ideas, and for reviewing other readers' responses. Now I ask the tech community to review this all-important transcript, and bear witness to the shoddy investigation and junk science upon which the RIAA has based its litigation war against the people. The computer scientists among you will be astounded that the RIAA has been permitted to burden our court system with cases based upon such arrant and careless nonsense.'" [Slashdot: Your Rights Online] 10:43:58 PM

European Retailer Embeds RFID Chips in Shoes. European Retailer Embeds RFID Chips in Shoes. One of Europe's largest shoe companies plans to embed wireless chips in shoes sold at hundreds of stores across the continent. [PC World: Latest Technology News] 10:28:01 PM

© Copyright 2007 Paul Hardwick. Last update: 3/4/07; 3:02:17 AM.