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Originally Posted by slowcoach
We don’t know what information is being collected by any of the companies who go in for data mining but, it appears to me, people are happy to have their data collected provided they receive a tangible benefit in return.
The fact that we don’t know what happens to that data once collected rules out assuming if a company is good or bad, the fact is we do not know who is good and who is bad, however, from past history we can safely assume that the Banks and Microsoft will not have any qualms about supplying our data to anyone, whatever their agenda, willing to pay the price.
The data mining companies usually say that they are collecting our information in order to provide improvements to their products and services when in reality it is just a means of gaining more revenue, as if they haven’t enough money already.
I won’t bring up Information is Power, as we all know that these plutocrats are all proven megalomaniacs.
The fact that the Data Protection Act allows for the mining and selling of third party data just shows how deep the corruption runs, no doubt the Government is one of the biggest culprits seeing as they store more of our details than anyone else.
Just for the record, I am against any company or individual who steal my data, at the least they are devious but more likely they are totally corrupt.
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Not everyone is happy to be data mined - me for one. That's why I try to minimize my everyday exposure to such systems, like not having any "loyalty" cards and always ticking the box that says "you may not use my information for marketing purposes or pass them on to third parties". I may or may not be in a minority...I refer you to your own Mark Twain quotation!
I don't agree with your assertion that we can't tell good companies from bad: whilst a previously-thought good company may be revealed to have done something naughty from time to time, it is certainly possible to blacklist "bad" companies for past misdemeanors (Phorm, formerly know as 121 Media, for example).
My own security rule of thumb is "once a crook, always a crook" so I operate a one strike rule with companies I choose to do business with - i.e. if they have ever done anything I consider unacceptable, they've burnt their bridges as far as my custom is concerned.
The Data Protection Act also gives the data subject (you) ultimate control over the mining and selling of your data by giving you the authority to issue the data controller of a company a DPA Notice, specifying how that company may and may not process your data. If you don't want them to sell it to third parties, the Act gives you the legal authority to insist that they do not. Failure to comply will ultimately result in heavy fines, thus totally negating the financial gain to them of selling your data in the first place.