"'Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority,' the court wrote."
If you prevent the transfer, you may not be granted a license, but I think explicit permission should always be asked... and if it's not in the license agreement (which it never is, because they actually want you to read that and if they put a requirement of giving your information there, you might get spooked), I don't personally feel terribly obligated to give good information.
Where's the part about "and be able to prevent the information transfer if they feel uncomfortable about it"?
"'I don't think there's anything wrong with targeted banner advertisements,' he said. 'But there needs to be more information. A person should know what's happening to information about them and what's going on with the software in their computers.'"
"Bennett, the Texas Webmaster, said the controversy demonstrates that companies need to do a better job quelling the public's fears about privacy.
From C|Net: Are Security Fears Running Ahead Of Reality? Funny, I would think a better title would be "Why Aren't People Worried About Security?" Consider this quote from the end of the article:
Also, note the cluelessness exhibited by the responders (in true Slashdot fashion): "Does this mean NBC be suing [sic] SONY soon because it's not easy to remove that 'SONY' logo on my TV and remote? The SONY logo isn't inside the TV frame, but then, neither were iCrave's banners..." It's amazing how many people seriously believe that "bound together on a single web site" and "in one person's field of vision" are semantically identical relationships... I suppose this person believes his TV remote to be an integral part of the TV signal. (Another failed argument-by-metaphor... I've really gotta write that one up for this site.)
If he's for real, that's exactly what I was objecting to as well. Adding the advertising on top of it was what this was about, not the re-broadcasting per se. Communication modification.
"Anyway, the problem with iCrave was that they didn't make it easy enough to remove their advertising banners. If they had had a button to turn them off then we would have had no case because then they wouldn't have forced anyone to view their added material."
iCraveTV update: An interesting post at Slashdot emerged, claiming to be from "a media consultant for a major American network."