Future versions could also be more malicious, such as modifying the price or even availability of the item on a competitor's website if possible.
This is why we need to keep supporting both technical solutions such as VPNs and https, as well as political solutions like net neutrality.
What about the corollary to this - marking down a price in store for a specific shopper. This is something I've read about in regards to in-store tracking. A system could detect when you're likely to purchase something given some sort of incentive, and provide an on-demand coupon to your smart device.
Not really. It's only effective on their own wifi network. Disconnect and you're good to go.
> Future versions could also be more malicious, such as modifying the price or even availability of the item on a competitor's website if possible.
That would have serious legal implications, so I don't see it.
> This is why we need to keep supporting both technical solutions such as VPNs and https, as well as political solutions like net neutrality.
Or, you know, turn off the free wifi they are giving you?
Saying this isn't anti-competitive because customers can always ignore the free wifi misses the point: given the service issues in stores and the attractiveness of (usually) higher speed wifi, people are going to be drawn to it and no one is going to read the Terms & Conditions that say "Hey, we're going to try to prevent you from shopping for the lowest price!"
> Not really. It's only effective on their own wifi network. Disconnect and you're good to go.
I don't understand how this response relates. It's still a huge ethical issue even if those people who are aware of it can learn to avoid it.
> That would have serious legal implications, so I don't see it.
I'm not as optimistic. ISPs have gotten away with modifying websites in the past, not as maliciously as this. But it's a step down that path.
> Or, you know, turn off the free wifi they are giving you?
Obviously I myself am not going to use the wifi. But I don't think just telling everyone you know not to use in-store wifi is a good long-term solution.
Those people should read TOS's. But seriously, don't connect to an open WIFI network expecting privacy.
Also, it'd be legal to intercept or block traffic. It wouldn't be legal to change a competitor's website.