Congress concerned over MagicBand security issues..

[Granny square]

My university had all of my personal info stolen. A magicband bracelet isn't even on the radar.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

Obviously there have been many replies to this post. But I can't resist adding that I think too that Congress has more than enough to worry about inside the beltway and shouldn't have time to worry about Disney wrist bands. Good grief.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Almost lol'd until I realized you might be serious.

Why should that stop an LOL?

 

[mousermerf]

My university had all of my personal info stolen. A magicband bracelet isn't even on the radar.

Mine was stolen from Neiman Marcus when I worked there. Thankfully nothing ever came from it, but really, if people want to steal your info they'll find a way.

 

[nooneshome]

Congress wrote a letter to Disney asking for clarification of the MagicBand, what data they intend to collect from children, etc.. because they are "deeply concerned."

http://markey.house.gov/sites/markey.house.gov/files/documents/Letter -- Disney -- 1-24-13.pdf

Disney should just tell them they are collecting medical data or checking to see if they own guns. That should handle Congress or at least one party.

 

[dadddio]

... But for the investors; the message was also "wink wink nudge nudge" we are also going to secretly spy on our guests for marketing purposes in order to manipulate them into increasing revenue - look how tricky and clever businessmen we are. Having both these guest and investors dual mixed messages was just ham-handed. The old fashioned way of growing the bottom line is: Better product = better revenue. Of course, you can trick people into fees, watching advertising, buying too much and all sorts of slippery mumbo-jumbo. I guess it should be no surprise that this is all tied to smart phones! No there is a customer friendly and transparent business! No hidden fees or gotchas there, no sir.

We are Disney investors, as I imagine that many of the people on this board are. I have not seen any sort of communication from the company that they were going to secretly spy on anyone. What they are doing is pretty above board, in my opinion.

 

[dadddio]

If we are forced to use the Magic Bands on our next trip, they will be taken home with us and destroyed.

Unless you have RFID readers in your house that are linked to WDW's internal system, you could just take them home. Alternatively, you could simply throw them away. The only thing someone could get out of them is the band's ID number, after all.

 

[donaldlovesdaisy]

Disney should just tell them they are collecting medical data or checking to see if they own guns. That should handle Congress or at least one party.

Baaahaaaa

 

[mousermerf]

Disney has been surveying guests for years and even handing out devices that track people's movement through the park voluntarily.

Those just provide them with small sample groups to track and also rely heavily on self-reporting.. which people can misremember the order of events or forget things completely.

The new system is just expanding that concept and getting better data. Disney likes data. They just don't particularly like you knowing that they're watching your every move like a lab rat in a maze.

An official press image from Disney from when Staggs visited the Reservation Center upon becoming head of Parks/Resorts:

He's in one of the main training rooms and look at the poster Disney has blacked-out on the wall. The title is actually "Data Capture Techniques."

This is nothing new nor any more malicious than what they've been doing for years.

 

[dadddio]

The government has far more of my personal information than Disney ever will, and the sad thing is I trust them far less than I do Disney.

Given that I get a letter every few years from DoD suggesting that I keep an eye on my credit bureaus because they've let my private information get away from them (again) and I've never received similar correspondence from Disney, I agree.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

This is nothing new nor any more malicious than what they've been doing for years.

Or what ANY company with a decent marketing department has been doing in any way they can!!

 

[Granny square]

Why should that stop an LOL?

True...

I don't get the paranoia. There are so many real things to worry about. Maybe it is easier o worry about the silly and unlikely. Sort of like the doomsday peepers worrying about a glacial Melt that will wipe out Florida...

 

[Granny square]

Or what ANY company with a decent marketing department has been doing in any way they can!!

I'm pretty sure my grocery store has far more info on me then disney will ever have.

 

[WLSILVERCREEKSPRINGS]

The government probably just doesn't like the competition

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I'm pretty sure my grocery store has far more info on me then disney will ever have.

Yeah!! Safeway and their sneaky, underhanded coupons that spit out at checkout for $0.27 off Excedrin... how do THEY know I need Excedrin?!?!?

 

[mousermerf]

Interesting comment from Al Lutz this morning..

You know, the man who people say gets his "insider info" straight from the man who's going to be the President of WDW come February 1st.

Editor's Note: January 25, 2013: MyMagic Nonplussed? The blunt questions asked of Bob Iger about the NextGen program by Massachusetts Congressman Ed Markey rolled through Disney's Burbank and Orlando offices like a tsunami on Thursday. The issue of data-mining children's experiences in Disney's parks by using RFID chips to track their behavior is now a hot topic on national talk radio thanks to alarmed parents; and could very well be why our last podcast where we discuss the issue has been breaking records. The entire NextGen/MyMagic initiative is under fire before it even hits the Orlando parks, and the suits are in full crisis mode now. Burbank should have heeded their front line park operators on this one, as they foresaw dozens of problems with NextGen. Congressman Markey's statement and questions to Iger are found at this link.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

Interesting comment from Al Lutz this morning..

You know, the man who people say gets his "insider info" straight from the man who's going to be the President of WDW come February 1st.

"The suits are in full crisis mode now"... why do I doubt that a letter from Markey strikes fear into the heart of Disney Execs? They've spent big money over the years lobbying Congress... whether it's about trademarks or park safety regulation... Disney "suits" are no strangers to navigating Washington.

 

[dadddio]

I'm not for a moment buying that they are in 'full on crisis mode', or any kind of crisis mode, actually. The most that they will do is put a lawyer in a room with some nextgen peeps and draft a reply to Markey.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I'm not for a moment buying that they are in 'full on crisis mode', or any kind of crisis mode, actually. The most that they will do is put a lawyer in a room with some nextgen peeps and draft a reply to Markey.

Sounds like we're on the same page... again, I think.

 

[Tbiafore]

Agreed - many of those seem to be pretty important. Congress protects the rights of its citizens - good for them.

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.