Often the first stage of an intrusion of privacy is data collection.
If the information doesn’t exist it’s hard to violate one’s
privacy. Whereas most individuals wouldn’t bother to go out
and gather this information, companies do this all the time,
often with our help. Grocery store loyalty programs are a good
example—we willingly sell our name and other personal info
along with a complete record of what we purchase and when.
There are many automated forms of data collection today—frequent
flyer cards, toll tags, credit cards, and phone bills. The
Wireless Internet will increase the amount of data that can be
collected. Initially this data will not be very personal—stock
quotes, news, weather—but as devices and networks evolve to
enable more sophisticated applications and services, security
will become an important concern and impact the growth of
the Wireless Internet.