Once upon a time, my mother told me that her parents initially refused to have a television in their house, because "they were afraid it would be able to watch them." We chuckled at the fears of the old folk.
Now who's laughing?
According to a story in today's NY Times, TiVo is starting a research division to analyze its users' commercial watching behavior. You probably know that your TiVo already regularly phones home as part of its "service," so it can record additional programs based on your personal recording history. TiVo will now track which ads you watch and which ones you skip, and look to sell that data.
Does it get worse? Yes.
For now, TiVo will not be able to tell advertisers anything about the demographics of the audience it measures. The privacy policy of the service allows it to gather data about viewing habits, but not any personal information. Mr. Juenger [TiVo's VP for audience research] said TiVo hoped to find a way to change that by the end of the year.
Given the coziness of the media giants and the past couple of administrations, I give it two years before pushing fast forward gets you listed as an enemy of America.
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