Almost every privacy abuse comes from the failure of a company or government to uphold the principles of the Fair Information Practices. There should be no secret databases. You should have a right to see your record in a database and to correct it. Information collected for one purpose shouldn't be used for another purpose without your permission, and companies that collect personal information should treat it with respect, controlling who has access to it. |
For a consumer there's basically no risk. This is an attack that is very difficult to mount and leaves very obvious traces. And furthermore it's an attack that can be fixed -- it's not a fundamental flaw in the protocol. |
It is an apparent contradiction that to get the marketers to send you fewer things you have to tell them more about you. |