The real cost of a cup of coffee

There is no such thing as a free lunch.  Or a cup of coffee. People have come to expect free Wi-Fi in public places, whether it is a coffee shop, airport or shopping centre.  The quid pro quo is that personal data is collected and shared for marketing purposes.  But users must be notified before data about people's location and behaviours is processed, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has said in its guidance on Wi-Fi location analytics (here).   This notification should clearly give: “The identity of the data controller; the defined purposes of the processing; and information relating to any third-parties or other organisation that the data may be shared with”.  In addition to providing the notification digitally, “Data controllers should consider the use of signage at the entrance to the collection area” says ICO.
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How many coffee bars have you walked into with a sign on the door to the effect of, “We are tracking you”?  Citizens today don’t have the patience to stop and consider a barrier to getting online.  We simply click to accept (T’s & C’s, cookies, whatever) and get on with it.  The ICO guidance will be not be easy to implement, another illustration of the challenges presented when the online world meets the physical world.