In an op-ed for The New York Times’ Privacy Project, Yale Law School Information Society Project Visiting Fellow Michael Kwet writes about the various ways retail stores are tracking shoppers' physical movements via Bluetooth beacons. While this information helps companies target advertising to individual shoppers, “the process of 'informed consent' fails to protect user privacy” as shoppers have to know the beacons exist in the first place in order to provide informed consent. “Most of our concerns about privacy are tied to the online world, and can feel theoretical at times,” he writes. “But there is nothing theoretical about Bluetooth beacon technology that follows you into retail stores (and other venues) and tracks your movement down to the meter.” (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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