Internet Privacy Bill of Rights (Abridged)

Image: Engadget.com
© Phil Kimmelman & Associates

President Obama recently released a document that outlines plans to protect the privacy of Internet users. You can read the entire release or read our abridged version below, if you prefer not to read through all the legalese.

The president often makes regulatory recommendations to Congress. This one, in particular, seeks to help consumers keep their personal data safe while allowing technological innovation to continue. This is important news for consumers and technologists because it could call for some drastic changes in the way personal data is handled and managed.

Who are the players?

• Consumers (You!)
• Commerce Department National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA)
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
• Congress
• Internet companies like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft,  AOL, etc. (Them!)

What are the goals?

• Protect consumer privacy and assure the ability of continued innovation by implementing flexible privacy rules that can keep up with innovation
• Create the groundwork for interoperability between the U.S. data privacy framework and trading partners (technology systems)
• Require internet companies and online advertising networks to use ‘Do Not Track’ technology

What is being proposed?

• Consumers ability to exercise control over what information companies collect about them  and how that personal data is used
• Provide reasonable limits on what personal data companies can collect and retain
• Establish standards on how personal information is secured and handled
• Guidelines for accessibility to a company’s privacy & security practices
• Ensure that companies who collect, use, and disclose personal data do it in ways that are consistent with the context in which the data is provided
• Identify who is accountable for the use or misuse of an individual’s personal data
• Ability for consumers to review, modify or remove the data that has been collected

We all should be considering how companies (and our government) will respect our privacy online. I plan to provide a follow up post on some additional ideas which should be included in the legislation. Meanwhile, take a look at the WebProNews’ video covering the Privacy Bill of Rights below.

CES & NRF 2012: More Insights Beyond the Technology

Like some other exhibitors and attendees, I made the quick leap from the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas to the National Retail Federation (NRF) in New York City in a matter of a few short days. With so many exhibitors (and a lack of sleep) it’s not so easy to say one thing really stood out among the rest.

However, having been at both CES and NRF, one of the observations I’m most excited about is that the economy is definitely picking up. Based on the significant increase in numbers of exhibitors and attendees from 2009 to 2012, it is clear that companies are again exploring technology and have the desire to invest in digital merchandising solutions.

With that being said, I’d be remiss if I didn’t share some of the things I’ve been keeping my eye on.  This year the transparent LCD products are moving from concept to production and RFID is being implemented in more creative ways.  Both of these technologies have the ability to impact the consumer experience in retail.

Transparent LCDs

Transparent LCD technology is becoming more and more prevalent as a viable option for customer-facing digital merchandising initiatives. Samsung seems to have the lead in this space with one of the clearest and advanced solutions on the market.  One of the concepts I’ve seen in the past involved attaching the transparent LCD to the inside of a beverage refrigerator glass door.  Perching an implementation like this at the front of the checkout aisle, is a prime spot to display eye-catching content and to get the consumers attention on a product.  If implemented properly, it’s sure to be able to drive up brand awareness and increase sales.

RFID

There are many opportunities within the digital merchandising realm to leverage the power of RFID tagging. Perhaps, in ways that have not been previously thought of.  Reality Interactive has implemented RFID reading for projects before (Wave and Win contest) but since then the technology has advanced in its capabilities and reduced in cost.  Not only can RFID tagging be used for active scanning and inventory purposes, but also consumer interaction with merchandise or displays.

At NRF, while exhibiting our Microsoft Surface 2.0 application on the new SUR40. We started to conceptualize different options for integrating RFID location-based interactivity. During lunch, we sat next an individual who happened to be deep into the development of RFID technology and directed us to UPM‘s booth showcasing the work of their partner inMotion.  They were demonstrating a similar concept based on the movement of the RFID tag on a product  the display would change to more relevant content.  This definitely got the creative juices flowing. Enjoy the video below while I’m off to get some sleep!

Courtesy of Washington Post : see photo gallery of CES 2012

Out of the (Retail) Box Thinking: Tesco Homeplus Subway Store [Video]

This is a great example of low-cost technology having a huge impact.  Keep an eye out for variations of this concept in large US cities in the near future.