Peter Aitken wrote:

> I think this is a gaggle of paranoid horseshit.

I note that the same company which collects much of
the supermarket card data is ChoicePoint, which
also offers the CLUE database access service to
insurance companies. Here is a description of CLUE:

http://www.insurance.wa.gov/factshee...ctShtRcdNum=13

I don't know what data is accessible from CLUE.
But I think if a big customer like the insurance
companies had a use for access to data owned
by ChoicePoint, it would make sense that
ChoicePoint would listen to them. Can you
imagine a ChoicePoint executive saying "Hey,
I don't think it would be ethical to let insurance
companies have access to this data because
consumers wouldn't be expecting their shopping
history to be turned against them."?

Here's more information about ChoicePoint:

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=3408

The organization resisting supermarket loyalty
cards is CASPIAN:

http://www.nocards.org/join/index.shtml