Over the years we've seen Comcast, AT&T and Verizon all patent the idea of a cable box that watches you, then collects and monetizes that data and/or pitches custom ads (for example if you have a dog, you'd see more ads for dog food). Microsoft also patented the idea of using a set top box to identify, count, and monitor people in a room, and appears to be the first out of the gate to use this technology in the real world.
As Microsoft highlighted recently, much of that functionality appears to have now made its way into the company's new Xbox One game console. The console's new Kinect sensor can go so far as to monitor a user's heart rate by looking at a user's face, and can detect users in a room at all times -- even during a low-power state.
This brave new snooping world is, rather unsurprisingly, giving already-sensitive (as we saw with Google Wi-Fi snooping) German privacy watchdogs fits. Peter Schaar, Germany's federal commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, this week raised concerns about all manner of new data being collected, traded and sold to third parties outside of consumer control:
quote:
"The Xbox [One] registered all sorts of personal information about me," Schaar said (via Bing Translator). "Reaction rates, my learning or emotional states. You are then processed on a remote server and possibly even to third parties. Whether it be deleted ever, the person concerned cannot influence."
The entertainment industry has shown particular interest in being able to count viewers, as it could allow them to charge consumers based on how many users were watching (which would of course go over like a lead balloon). Given the degree of location tracking that
wireless companies engage in but won't talk about, privacy advocates have plenty to worry about. Gender, moods, pet ownership, behavior -- all can technically be tracked and monetized with the right technology, and given our inability to pass real privacy safeguards, the sky is the limit for this new marketing gold mine.Microsoft's suggestion for those worried about privacy? You can
turn it off.
