Congress concerned over MagicBand security issues..

[mousermerf]

You may not want to believe crisis mode.. but Disney has been trying to avoid tarnishing their reputation with this system by carefully planning the rollout for over a year..

http://www.rfidjournal.com/blog/entry/10348/

To them, this is DEFCON 1.

 

[Granny square]

Disagree - I also think its non of their business and Disney shouldnt provide it...you have a right to go or not to go...participate in providing the information or not...if you are worried someone is going to know when you eat, what you eat, what ride you ride on, whats your name, etc...then dont give it or go. There are lots of other ways to get that information and I have yet to see any information that is really a "privacy" issue....

Were in a social environment where I can walk down the street and see who owns what house, what their property taxes are, do they have a record, etc.. with the ease of a computer, not to mention all these social sites that hold so much of your information already...I just dont see the meaning of all this. Let Disney market to improve the experience which in turn makes them more money if they so choose...If I dont like how it ends up, I will go to Universal next year.

Seriously. A newspaper can publish the address of gun owners but disney keeping track of their business interactions are a national concern.

 

[Sammie]

I do have to ask, why Disney and not these other resorts using the same technology. Something does not smell right about this.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

I do have to ask, why Disney and not these other resorts using the same technology. Something does not smell right about this.

Maybe Markey is worried that this bracelet and FP+ will be for resort guest only and he is too cheap to stay anywhere else but the Knights Inn in Kissimmee
where they allow you to make grilled cheese with an iron!

 

[Kathymford]

It's simple, you don't want it/like it, GET OUT OF MY PARK!

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

You may not want to believe crisis mode.. but Disney has been trying to avoid tarnishing their reputation with this system by carefully planning the rollout for over a year..

http://www.rfidjournal.com/blog/entry/10348/

To them, this is DEFCON 1.

Really?? A letter from a Congressman is DEFCON 1?? I don't think they shake in their boots that easily.

I'm sure they'll take it seriously... like write a nice letter back. And do whatever "damage control" might actually crop up.

I'd bet they're prepared for this. Technology & privacy issues have been big for some other big name companies. Doubt this is completely unexpected.

I do have to ask, why Disney and not these other resorts using the same technology. Something does not smell right about this.

Because Disney is the big fish. And Markey wants to run for senate. Markey's position on this committee technically puts this in his general department - he'll use it. Politicians

EDITED TO ADD: Markey may already expect nothing to come of this, but just want to check this box -- "I'm looking out for the people, and Disney's response allays our concerns" kind of stuff. Gets his name in the news just when he's talking about a run for the senate.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

This is how much attention Markey TYPICALLY pays to this privacy issue -- NONE:

Maybe Markey should have done his homework prior to dashing off the letter to Disney, which is not the first U.S. resort to introduce RFID wristbands. As the Times article notes, in fact, "Great Wolf Resorts, an operator of 11 water parks in North America, has been using them [wristbands equipped with RFID] since 2006." I have never heard of any consumer complaints related to RFID lodged against the resort—and if it had received complaints, I doubt it would be expanding its RFID applications. In 2009, Great Wolf introduced an RFID-based interactive game for children (see Great Wolf Lodge Combines Storytelling With RFID), and in 2011, the resort added an RFID-enabled social-media application that lets guests link the RFID technology in their water park wristbands with their Facebook accounts, to automatically share photographs.

http://www.rfidjournal.com/blog/entry/10348/

 

[Kaspar Houser]

Portable GPS units (such as Garmins) in cars are not capable of tracking you and sending that data in real-time to anyone. I do not know enough about fully-integrated GPSs to say the same about them, however, but I expect the answer is the same.

Yes they can.

Besides just try to go to the US to spent money on a vacation. The only thing the government does not ask is when you had s... with your husband the last time.
O and did you know the US closed down EVERY public port in EUROPE? They made prisons from public ports. After 9-11 they demanded you have to get a clearance three days in advance.
We know a person that died on board of a ship because the ambulance did not get access. Thank you US.
O and did you know the US knows EVERY bank transition we make in EUROPE?
Talk about being paranoid.

 

[1stvisit0909]

I would think that the Freedom of Information Act would require disclosure of Disney's response.

Regardless of whether Congress "should" be looking into this...I'm glad they are. I think a Member of Congress is more likely to get a response than any of us DISboarders. I'll be interested in seeing the answers, for sure.

Not necessarily. The Feds have all sorts of ways to get. Around FOIA

 

[dadddio]

Yes they can.

no, they can't. The typical GPSr is a receiver only. It cannot transmit anything.

Besides just try to go to the US to spent money on a vacation. The only thing the government does not ask is when you had s... with your husband the last time.
O and did you know the US closed down EVERY public port in EUROPE? They made prisons from public ports. After 9-11 they demanded you have to get a clearance three days in advance.
We know a person that died on board of a ship because the ambulance did not get access. Thank you US.
O and did you know the US knows EVERY bank transition we make in EUROPE?
Talk about being paranoid.

you mean talking like you're paranoid?

 

[dadddio]

You may not want to believe crisis mode.. but Disney has been trying to avoid tarnishing their reputation with this system by carefully planning the rollout for over a year..

http://www.rfidjournal.com/blog/entry/10348/

To them, this is DEFCON 1.

I think that the article is better evidence as to why the company wouldn't be too stressed by Markeys letter. They clearly have their Donalds in a row.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Yes they can.

Besides just try to go to the US to spent money on a vacation. The only thing the government does not ask is when you had s... with your husband the last time.
O and did you know the US closed down EVERY public port in EUROPE? They made prisons from public ports. After 9-11 they demanded you have to get a clearance three days in advance.
We know a person that died on board of a ship because the ambulance did not get access. Thank you US.
O and did you know the US knows EVERY bank transition we make in EUROPE?
Talk about being paranoid.

If it is such a pain for you to come here and feel the US govt is being too intrusive then don't vacation in the US. Thousands of lives were lost in 911 thanks to foreign terrorist so I am sure you can understand why they are taking these steps to ensure it does not happen again.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I think that the article is better evidence as to why the company wouldn't be too stressed by Markeys letter. They clearly have their Donalds in a row.

 

[mesaboy2]

no, they can't. The typical GPSr is a receiver only. It cannot transmit anything.

you mean talking like you're paranoid?

Somehow I don't think the PP's gonna believe us anyway. Psst...don't tell him about the black helicopters.

 

[Granny square]

Somehow I don't think the PP's gonna believe us anyway. Psst...don't tell him about the black helicopters.

What black helicopters.

 

[Zeppelin]

I am really glad that there is not any important business that congress need to worry about.

lol- markey is just cheesed off that he and the rest of his party did not think of using this on the American people first....

 

[Deb & Bill]

My guess? Markey has an old refillable mug that expired a few years ago and he wants a free refill next month.

 

[4HOLIDAYS]

Doesn't it seem like "big brother is watching"?

We get it all the time, with most plases you go, things you do, transactions yu make, but I think most people just don't realize it.

I would still like to know that my credit info is protected, I would never use a cc with rfid in it, to easy to get at, and exactly who will have the profile they are building of me and my family members. I think it would be good if you can opt out of certain features, without losing them all.

Oh, and I will be carrying, not wearing a "bracelet", so I would love it if they gave me an option of a card that can be put away securely if I want.

 

[Laketravis]

Now wait a minute - how come he's not asking those very same questions of Google or Facebook?

Do a search, use Gmail, click on a link, "Like" something, there's so much data being collected in regards to the user "experience" by those entities that anything Disney could do over the course of a several day vacation pales in comparison.

Here's a fact for you - every hour, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. collects 50 million filing cabinets' worth of information from its dealings with customers.

(Source: Harvard Business Review)

Why isn't he concerned about THAT???

In fact, why aren't those on this board who are concerned about a mickey-mouse bracelet voicing the same concerns about Google, FaceBook, Walmart, etc?

 

[Sammie]

Why is it if someone has an opposing opinion they are sheep? This phrase really ticks me off (as you intend it to). Perhaps it is better to be a placid sheep than a paranoid person.

I am viewed by cameras for hours each day as I work in a large city. My bank can track my movements by the debit transactions (which I can see online within minutes of using the card). So I am not incognito now. Even my tivo analzyes my viewing and recording of shows to give me tivo suggestions.

It seems people are more woried about what might happen with the technology (someone else reading the chip or Disney selling the information)rather than what Disney uses it for.

I agree about the sheep comment and any way what are they going to learn except we all spend way too much time here worrying over much of nothing, myself included.

As far as Big Brother watching goes, I have nothing to hide and could care less if someone tracks my shopping habits. It's already done when I sign on the computer every day, so doing it while I am in the park bothers me none.

I will say that for some it does seem Disney is really the company some love to hate.