(Note: I'm not actually that worried about this -- I think society will adjust -- but I think collecting anecdotes only shames the people using your data in ways that are trying to be helpful to you.)
In addition, the FCRA mandates the following cannot appear on background checks:
- Bankruptcies after 10 years
- Civil suits, civil judgments and records of arrest, from date of entry, after seven years
- Accounts placed for collection after seven years
- Any other negative information (except criminal convictions) after seven years
I'm not talking out of my ass: someone who has one of the most innovative companies around shared a real problem they had because of that. If NSA was not completely overwhelmed by bullshit data, they would absolutely use supermarket data to target Salafists.
Most people do not care. I am glad that some people do care, and I read the news actively.
As much as it sends chills down the spines of wary folk, for the time being, the government and the huge corporations have my trust.
Days ago a friend showed me how after calling a restaurant (just a number) for doing a reservation and later the contact list displayed the name of the restaurant and an image of it.
Cool, right? Joe and Foo love this feature, but do not know the implications of it: a query is sent to Google asking for the info on a number (one must presume, tied up to your account id). Google now knows which numbers you are calling. and, Assuming they do this just for restaurants (how would they know, the query is sent anyways), they might even know your food preference.