Privacy, what privacy?

Use an automated toll payment device such as an E-ZPass, and the state knows where you've been. Travel public transportation using a smart-card payment device, and your transit agency knows where you've been. Of course, with GPS devices on many cell phones, almost anybody can find you.

For convenience, we surrender privacy.

Video cameras seem to be everywhere and are only likely to become more pervasive. Here in Illinois, the grisly murder of five women in a Lane Bryant store led to calls for state legislation requiring video cameras in all retail outlets. Many people have wired their homes to be able to view nannies at work, dogs on the sofa, or just an empty house.

For security, we surrender privacy.

We use affinity cards in grocery stores to get the weekly special, but these also track every purchase we make, enabling stores to target their marketing.

To save money, we surrender privacy.

Facebook was smacked down for its intrusive advertising plan, but the truth is, millions of people go on this and other social networking sites hourly to divulge details of their lives to a wide group of friends and acquaintances. TiVo users like the fact that the service can learn their preferences and show them video content they will appreciate.

To make social connections or enjoy entertainment, we surrender privacy.

So why would we, as consumers, have any expectation of privacy left? And that's before we debate the Patriot Act, eavesdropping on telephone conversations for national security's sake or other such government actions.

The truth is, we willingly hand over our privacy every day without thinking about it. But that doesn't mean we should unwillingly lose privacy when it does matter.

Laws have forced financial institutions, insurance companies and health care providers to routinely inform their customers of their privacy rights. But when was the last time you read a privacy policy statement mailed to you by your bank or insurance company? I used to shred these until I happened to glance at a privacy policy that gave my bank the right to sell my personal information to “affiliates” and “third parties” unless I wrote a letter instructing it not to.

And there's the issue, isn't it? We want to choose when we give up our privacy and when we don't. That's the real message that broadband service providers should hear as they seek to develop new services based on a growing archive of customer information.

In this issue's cover story, we examine the balance being struck between consumer privacy and potential new services from four perspectives: broadband service providers, wireless service providers, consumer watchdog groups and the online community. Weigh in with your perspective by visiting TelephonyOnline.com and commenting on our Telephony Unfiltered blog.