> I can't help but wonder...how many real-world businesses could benefit from the same type of invasive tracking that online businesses seem to think they have

> I can't help but wonder...how many real-world businesses could benefit from the same type of invasive tracking that online businesses seem to think they have a right to subject us with? Most companies that collect data use it to make money. That's not true ONLY on the web. > For some reason, though, we don't allow that sort of privacy violation in our actual lives. Really? Do you have any grocery store loyalty cards? Do you use a credit card? That data is shared and sold. Do you do any activities that show up on your credit report, like pay bills to a utility? That data is shared and sold. That's how the credit rating agency got it. Do you have a set-top box? It's probably selling data on what shows you watch. Do you have a cell phone? Location data. If you actually restricted yourself to purchases which don't involve anybody who shares your data, you'd be living in a cave.