One Citizen Speaking...

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Losing Your Privacy One Device at a Time: CISCO WI-FI SCHEME USES FACEBOOK LOGIN, WILL ALLOW VOLUNTARY TRACKING OF DEMOGRAPHICS AND ACTIVITY? Posted: 03 Oct 2013 08:58 PM PDT In  light of the Edward Snowden expose of NSA spying using social media, one might wish to think about providing the government and others with a near-real-time tracking tool and personal dossier in return for unspecified social benefits. Or, reconsider allowing others to mine your communications for targeted advertising in exchange for free access to services and software. Enter Cisco and Facebook …   Soon your Facebook credentials will log you into Wi-Fi networks Cisco and Facebook have built a Wi-Fi technology that lets customers trade their demographic data for free Wi-Fi access. The data is collected anonymously, but it’s still highly useful to businesses collecting it. Facebook and Cisco Systems might seem like strange bedfellows, but on Wednesday they revealed a partnership that could turn the world’s biggest social network into the gateway for Wi-Fi access at business establishments across the country. Consumers are increasingly expecting Wi-Fi to be free when they visit restaurants, malls, hotels and tourist attractions. Increasingly those businesses are obliging, but they want something in return, said Chris Spain, a VP in Cisco’s enterprise networking group. Cisco and Facebook are prepared to deliver that quid pro quo in the form of detailed analytics about their customers. Called Facebook Wi-Fi Service, the setup lets a business to do away with password-protected networks and registration screens, substituting a customer’s Facebook credentials for a login. Just as you can Facebook to register and log into many apps and websites, you can the same credentials to get online over the MGM Grand’s Wi-Fi networks in Las Vegas. The MGM and several other Cisco enterprise wireless customers around the world are piloting the technology. Source: Soon your Facebook credentials will log you into Wi-Fi networks — Tech News and Analysis Bottom line … There are no consumer-accessible controls, checks and balances, or audits to really determine what information is being collected and the use to which it is being put. As we learned from the Edward Snowden affair, the government is even willing to lie to courts and congress in order to pursue their own agenda. What chance does a consumer have against corporations that put forth unilateral terms of service and user agreements that protect the corporation with little or no recourse for consumers – even in the case of gross negligent and actual harm. Many of these corporations have well-paying secret agreements and contracts with the government and will do or say anything to maintain their profitability – and perhaps avoid regulatory sanctions should wrongdoing be discovered. I deleted my Facebook account (already at the limit of 5,000 friends) because I could no longer trust their security or their motives. Any service that requires a Facebook log-on or the use of a Facebook comment system is ignored as not being worth the potential risks. Consider for yourself if you are willing to trade your privacy for access to programs and services. Personally, I am tired of allowing corporations and others to have free access to the electronic devices that I have paid for in the guise of improving the consumer experience. Enough is enough. -- steve