I admit my post was more a personal complaint/rant than a legal argument. I guess my concern isn't so much about privacy as it is about the ability (or inabili

I admit my post was more a personal complaint/rant than a legal argument. I guess my concern isn't so much about privacy as it is about the ability (or inability) to decide on at least a general level where to send information. Put way-too-simplisticly, if someone said to me: "Would you let my widget track where you drive in exchange for a discount on fuel based on mileage?" Maybe I would say yes. Maybe I would say no. How about if the offer also said that "the way we pay for this is by scanning the data we collect. That way we can sell ad space to businesses near your common driving areas. They never get your actual data but a shop on your morning commute will pay us to show their ads to people that may pass by." Maybe I would still agree. Or maybe I'd think, "eh....I dunno. Raw data for discounts is one thing but analyzing it for third parties seems sketchy." Again, my choice in general even if I don't ever know the exact workings of the software and transactions or any of the third party businesses buying ad space. I think of it more like contract law and knowing (at least broadly) what you're agreeing to before you sign. To continue this ludicrously oversimplified example, let's say I agree to the terms because on one hand, all this targeted advertising seems a little tacky or creepy but on the other hand, it really does beat getting blasted with ads for stores in other towns or items I'd never buy. Plus hey...the discounts on gas mean I'm spending $50 less every month! Well, without my knowledge, the local Drug Enforcement Agency has decided that the best way to stop trafficking is to either secretly demand all the data collected by this ads-for-fuel service or just install some dodgy new data collection towers that connect to the tracking widget and intercept it all without anyone's knowledge. That is the point where I have a problem. It's not that I expect complete privacy in public. If law enforcement wants to get a warrant to track my car because they think I'm a criminal suspect, that's something that can happen. But to demand (or just take) mass amounts of data that was only volunteered for other uses is just not cool. Maybe my animosity comes from thinking that if the state wants all of this info, they ought to develop their own ways of getting it, rather than just taking advantage of legit services that people choose to use. Or maybe if they just came out and said "we're putting a tracker on everyone's car" people would go apeshit. It's like if you can't convince everyone to submit to tracking by the state/law enforcement, just wait until someone else develops a service everyone wants to sign up for, then demand or steal their data.