As the debate on privacy rages on in the US, data brokers came under the spotlight:
“A Senate commerce committee hearing last week revealed that data brokers are selling increasingly sensitive information, including lists of rape victims sold for 7.9 cents per name, and genetic disease sufferers. Companies can use those details to change what offers they make to consumers and change the prices they charge for products.
“One of the key characteristics of modern data brokers is a lack of restraint,” said Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum. “The degree to which no piece of data are sacred is evident in the reams of sensitive consumer data compiled, scored, circulated, and sold.””
This reminded me of an excellent film, starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman, called Gattaca, set in a future where a person's opportunities are determined by his DNA. But the key message: there's no gene for the human spirit.
