O Canada! → Canadian → Canadian Broadband > Rogers is going the Miniority report route

Rogers is going the Miniority report route

Minority report , for those that haven't seen it, was a movie (amongst other things) in which ads would be targeted towards you as you walked past them.

Rogers is planning to send texts to person as they walk buy partner retailers to entice them to come into the store.

There are numerous apps on all the different platforms that have done and continue to do this for quite a while now. This isn't really anything new, nor is it anything even remotely close to Minority Report lol.
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Granted Minority report scanned your retina to see who you were, but this is damn close, and from Rogers? It's going to be abused.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's silly and Rogers certainly wouldn't be top of my list of people I'd want doing this, but this is insane hyperbole. The key here is you have to opt-in. Don't?

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What hyperbole, it's a thin wedge towards something like Minority Report.
Yes you do have to opt-in for now I can see Rogers spinning some BS about saving you money on your plan (read we're not going to raise our rates this week) if you don't opt out of this plan.
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No, I didn't. Honest... I ran out of gas. I... I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car. There was an earthquake.......

That's actually quite silly, to be honest.
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To be quite honest, I would have expected this from Google first. I expected this would be something Google would be able to do on every Android powered mobile device.

Either way, I think it is a pile of crap. I'd love nothing more than a system where I pay my money and advertisers leave me the hell alone.

You're comparing a bundle of multiple services such as phone, Internet and cable television, to opting in on a coupon app....Wow.

I'm not defending the idiocy of this type of service, but your imaginations are running rampant.
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Hi all, Chris from Rogers here – just to clarify, Rogers Alerts connects consumers with offers nearby from the brands they love. Consumers can opt-in as it suits them, and can opt-out anytime by simply typing “Stop.”

Also, there is no cost associated with sending and receiving text messages to or from Rogers Alerts.

I can't stand Rogers, but if I opt in and walk by a Rogers store, you'll send me an alert?

Brands they love give me a break, it's "Brands that have paid a shitload of money to Rogers so they can send texts to a captive audience".

»placecast.net/platform/impl.html

So this could be considered a violation of privacy laws? Based on if the person is downloading an app and not just using cell signal triangulation or GPS
I am guessing is the app(download it and not bother reading the privacy statements) uses the phones WiFi and the stores sees the WiFi to then alert and advertise.
Or in a dangerous case, the unique cell phone network ID number.

But depending on how Rogers controls your phone, it could have uploaded all WiFi MAC's of Rogers phones into the store alert databases. Opt in/opt out would be no existent.

Facebook has a program about WiFi and your bad(privacy issues) facebook app and logging into a store with your smartphone.
»blogs.cisco.com/news/facebook-an···nsumers/

In London England, there were recycling bins(with an LCD ad screen) on the street with transponders that listened for the WiFi signals of smartphones and recored the unique MAC address, to then create a database of that phone and its locations for advertising purposes.
They were shut down by the government as soon as someone noticed.
»www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/201···hing-you

Then there was Nordstrom and WiFi tracking in store. Their 'test' shut down as soon as people noticed.
»lifehacker.com/how-retail-stores···27512308

Turn off your WiFi radio when you don't need to connect to your router. And beware of 'free WiFi' and potential scraping of your unencrypted data streams.

Then there are RFID credit/bus/debit/medical/employee cards that can be read from 30 feet away, unless you keep it in a metal folder case. The terminal scanners are on low power and only read at 4 inches maximum.

We are living in the Sims and there is a little sign above your head telling the scanner who you are. Once upon a time, you had to be mugged for people to get at your personal data. But now electronic thieves are mugging you without even shivving you.

digital pickpockets.
»www.komonews.com/news/local/Digi···001.html
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Knowledge and curiosity are not crimes and those who are curious should not be treated like criminals.. »www.eff.org/https-everywhere

How is this a violation of privacy laws? If you don't want the texts don't opt in. It's that simple.