Essay Example on Should Companies Be Allowed to Track Consumers Shopping or Other Preferences

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Should Companies Be Allowed to Track Consumers Shopping or Other Preferences Without Their Permission Many companies such as E Z Pass cell phone companies and various retail stores have been spying on consumers listening recording and tracking them without their knowledge It is an invasion of privacy that allows major companies to profit off our personal information Simply it's not right rude and downright creepy These companies should not be allowed to intentionally watch and document people's lives without their permission The fact that they are recording people in secretive ways is alarming It only leads to the questions that we desperately want and need answers for Does anyone have privacy anymore Who can we trust Are we safe First companies watching and collecting information about us is an invasion of privacy Stores are now purchasing a new tool to provide details as to what customers want the EyeSee Mannequin The EyeSee Mannequins have cameras in their eyes that analyze your age gender and race while you shop in a store Some of the mannequins even have ears so they can record comments from customers Whitehead W John These strange dolls can store a lot of information about the company's customers allowing them to provide what the people want in order to gain more profit RFIDs or radio frequency information devices are an automatic identification system that tracks and collects data and transmits the information through a tag A device called a reader extracts and processes the information on the tab These RFIDs can be paired to a person's identity and track the items invading people's privacy Stein G Serena Another way our privacy is being invaded is through our smartphones Your cell phone company is always tracking you whether it's your location what you search online or even listening to conversations you have on the phone All of the data is being sent to Google and is being stored on our phones 



These companies use this information to send emails ads and texts to urge consumers to buy at very convenient times Ebben Paula For example if someone searches for snow boots in Google ads for Zappos will pop up on the computer screen to encourage buyers to purchase items Another reason why it is wrong that companies use consumer information is because when spying these companies put you in a major risk of identity theft According to marketing expert Mark Johnson our data trail and personal details like our age gender habits and location is worth a lot of money to the cell phone companies Ebben Paula If our cell phone companies will sell our information to third parties then they could easily sell our information to people intending to use it for bad purposes This is a serious issue if your information gets in the hands of the wrong people your identity can easily be stolen When companies gather consumer information they become vulnerable and use them to gain money which directly violates that person's autonomy Calo Ryan Professor Ryan Calo from the University of Washington argues that this could lead to exploiting people by hindering or distorting competition and imposing outside burdens on the least sophisticated consumers Basically this means that if they know you are searching for a gift they can offer it to you at an increased price that you would normally not pay 



Another example would be if you are desperate for a mortgage they will offer a higher interest rate A consumer with little education or little choice may fall victim to these predators more often if they are constantly monitored and prodded Eventually our society as a whole can lose its natured autonomy and the government can take control Should companies be allowed to track consumers shopping or other preferences without their permission 

There are many different arguments to this question Some people say that it is ok for companies to do this because they are advertising things that are relevant to what they want Ebben Paula Some say it's a win-win because it saves consumers time This is mainly true but we cannot overlook the fact that these companies obtained that information from spying on you in the first place Cell phone companies argue that they do advise their customers about the information they collect but most companies don't Nevertheless the policies are difficult to read and understand leaving customers confused about what is happening



Consumers should be able to opt-in or out of the tracking based on their comfort level Companies should not be allowed to track consumers shopping or other preferences without their permission It's not right that they get to invade our privacy and then make money by selling it or using it to their own advantage People shouldn't have to go out of their way to get the company to stop tracking them The companies should track people who agree and understand what they were doing Not only is this scary it is an invasion of privacy and identity threat risk and it can lead to a larger government that takes the decision making out of the population hands If this continues I wonder what is next will robots tell us what to think



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