iTunes 6.0.2 spies on you

mr. dave, I was never afraid that my personal data was being "big brothered" by Apple. It was that they were not up front about this. Yeah, we all knew that the data-mining they were doing was harmless. But not including prominently what was collected, when, and what was done with the data had potential to open bad doors. Imagine Microsoft silently releasing a feature in Office that transmitted data about documents that you were working on. Wouldn't you want to hear from Microsoft's mouth what they were gathering and what they were doing with the data when they were done with it? Their EULAs and Privacy Policies contain all of the provisions for carte blanche tracking that Apple's does.
Bravo on Apple for releasing a public statement this soon, and for creating a KB article on it. FYI, if you hadn't read elsewhere, the data transmitted is sent blind, with no identifier to your iTMS account, and all data is discarded after the results are sent back to the MiniStore. EULAs, for the record, have a poor track record of holding up in court as properly disclosing things to end users, and, as previously stated, just because you put something in your EULA that says you as a company can do something, it is not made ethical or legal just because users click "agree". If Apple had included any of that information in the ReadMe with iTunes 6.0.2, the controversy would have been avoided. Better late than never, though, good on Apple for addressing it so quickly.

Please refer to http://www.MacOSXhints.com for more information and full disclosure of what is and isn't transmitted via the mini-store. Data is only sent when YOU change a track or album. Data is not streamed while your music is playing, nor is data transmitted when tracks or albums change on their own. So I personally feel this has been way overblown.

Speaking of, I do wonder: if Apple used Google Analytics or a hosted Webtrends Live installation, would people be so quick to label it Spyware? Why are people so paranoid with installed applications, but not web pages? Why aren't they paranoid about the fact that I can code a Dashboard widget that could report iTunes habits back to X third party.

Surfing the web gives tons of data to nefarious third parties. As does swiping a credit card, going into a store, going to the airport, travelling by train, using Amazon.com, using eBay.

This is no more spyware than a Google Analytics tag on a webpage. Why are people so quick to say "SPYWARE" when every click on a webpage gives me much, much more information than iTunes could ever give. BoingBoing has no fact check and cares more about controversy than accurate reporting sometimes. Christ. They labled Omniture an evil data acquisition company when its no different than Google Analytics (which all the bloggers seem to love).

I really think this iTunes spy issue is a tempest in a teapot. But in any event, it IS within the license agreement Apple gives you with iTunes. The iTunes license says you must agree to the iTunes Music store Terms of Service to use that service. That TOS points you to the Apple Privacy Policy, which states, in part:

"There are also times when it may be advantageous for Apple to make certain personal information about you available to companies that Apple has a strategic relationship with or that perform work for Apple to provide products and services to you on our behalf. These companies may help us process information, extend credit, fulfill customer orders, deliver products to you, manage and enhance customer data, provide customer service, assess your interest in our products and services, or conduct customer research or satisfaction surveys. These companies are also obligated to protect your personal information in accordance with Apples policies. Without such information being made available, it would be difficult for you to purchase products, have products delivered to you, receive customer service, provide us feedback to improve our products and services, or access certain services, offers, and content on the Apple website."

Apple Privacy Policy:
http://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/

iTunes Music Store TOS
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/legal/terms.html

iTunes License Agreement
http://www.apple.com/legal/sla/itunes.html

This is not spyware, people. And this is most certainly a tempest in a teapot.

You have a license agreement with iTunes. That agreement states that you must be bound by the *separate* iTunes Music store agreement. That agreement directs you to read Apple's privacy policy, which clearly states up-front that they will collect information, and what they will do with it.

You agreed to this when you clicked "Accept" at the iTunes install.

Repeat after me: THIS IS NOT A BIG DEAL.

More overt? How about a dialog box telling you that your music listening habits are transmitted both to the iTMS and to a third party while the MiniStore is open. The "What's New" certainly doesn't mention that your data will be shared with Omniture. Why hide that fact unless they acknowledge that some might consider that unsavory?
And no, I'm not a large privacy advocate. I'm not a member of the EFF, and I often disagree with their battles and ideals. I am not naive, though, to the reality of how ridiculous, obviously harmful things get dismissed or upheld by the courts because something similar has been used and is not being challenged.
Because this feature doesn't tell you explicitly what it's sending, and when it's shut off, it qualifies as spyware. Non-harmful spyware, I'll admit. But I think we can all agree that it would be a shame if it somehow became a vehicle for actual violations of our privacy.

I think you're the one who is trying to frame a non-issue in the confines of a narrow debate about privacy rights. Also, I use caps too much.

It's completely different. You are actively clicking on a link that takes you to the iTMS.

I dunno about you, but when I installed the application I was informed, in advanced, on apple's site about this new feature. Where's the lack of disclosure here?

In addition, the icon chosen to represent this action clearly indicates movement to an environment outside of your library.

Yeah, and exactly WHO could confuse the contents of the ministore as something OTHER than online content?

Not only does the information transmission happen without user initiation,

That's not true, they still clicked on the track, didn't they? "User Initiation". Maybe it wasn't apparent that would happen, but you know, informed users DO read about 'new features', even when they're right the fuck there on the website.

but it's not clear whether or not this information is no longer transmitted when that window is turned off.

Probably because it's pretty easily assumed. And yeah, I do hold Apple to different standards than say, your average spyware maker. I hold them to higher standards, and yes, that means I'll let little things slide, especially when I (informed citizen) know the difference between a feature and a soul-sucking privacy hole.

You know, you can probably turn anything into a battle over privacy rights... or you could choose your battles more wisely, like a DA would.

Reading comprehension FTW, btw.

Seriously, I misread your dangling clause there, but tell me, how much more overt can you get?

(closing tag for italics about 3 posts ago.)

It'd be nice if some of the staff would finally speak on the issue of disappearing posts. *sigh*