Ed Markey - MyMagic+ at Disney

Ed has been busy again..

http://markey.house.gov/sites/markey.house.gov/files/documents/Letter%20--%20Disney%20--%201-24-13.pdf

This guy needs to win the lottery or something, so he'll go away.

Did he not read the answers in the myriad of articles about this to all of his questions?

The "Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus"? And people wonder why we're $16 trillion in the hole.

On a related note, I ran across this site. How coy of them to put up a picture of Colossus (with a PTC train)...

GayCoasterGuy said:

This guy needs to win the lottery or something, so he'll go away.

Sounds like instead he's going to become a senator.

There are many industries out there that need better oversight that he could focus his attention on. Apparently the amusement industry just hasn't purchased the right kind of lobbyists yet.

Did this guy have to do the walk of shame when he was teenager?

"Although kids should have the chance to meet Mickey Mouse, this memorable meeting should not be manipulated through the surreptitious use of a child's personal information."

Since when did telling a person up front that you'll use the information (name/birthday) included on the bracelet to provide a more personal interaction with characters become "surreptitious"? Sounds to me like someone needs to find himself a dictionary.

Ed always wants to do it for the children. I thought that was a tired stereotype that politicians no longer engaged in.

At the end of the day, visiting Disney is a voluntary option, and participating in this system is voluntary. Let the market decide. Stay the hell out of it, Ed.

Jeff said:

Ed always wants to do it for the children. I thought that was a tired stereotype that politicians no longer engaged in.

Where have you been?

Re: becoming a Senator.

From what I've read, he's probably going to have his backside handed to him on a platter, unless for some reason Brown doesn't run.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/poll-scott-brown-crushe...pothetical

Ugh, I'll take an insane Democrat over a GOP senator any day. The election is still a long ways off though.

I dunno, that sounds like a lateral move, at best.

This honestly doesn't sound so crazy to me.

I think Markey is generally off base when it comes to federal oversight of parks re: physical safety, but the ever-burgeoning ability for private enterprise to gather huge amounts of person data on us is certainly, I think, reasonable for the government to look into.

That being said, do I think Disney's new program is really some sort of nefarious scheme to infringe on our privacy? No, not really. But I do think it's part of a larger trend that's been growing for quite sometime, and I do think there comes a point where government should be able to reasonably say "No, private business, gathering x, y, and z is illegal."

I don't know exactly where that point is, and again, I don't think Disney is planning to step over any serious lines, but I also don't think this is the looniest or unreasonable line of questioning I've read to come out of Congress lately.

Is Disney obligated to reply to this?

No, but I'm sure they'll want to address it for PR purposes. This is a huge investment for them.

Ha ha, Iger responds.

Bob Iger
January 28, 2013

The Honorable Edward Markey

2108 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515

Congressman Markey:

For 90 years, Disney has been synonymous with high-quality entertainment for families and children of all ages. We use creativity, innovation and technology to create memorable moments and experiences for our hundreds of millions of customers and guests. And, as you well know, Disney’s record and commitment to children’s safety and security and the protection of their privacy is exemplary. People around the world trust Disney and its products. That trust is the cornerstone of our company, and we take it very seriously.

We are offended by the ludicrous and utterly ill-informed assertion in your letter dated January 24, 2013, that we would in any way haphazardly or recklessly introduce a program that manipulates children, or wantonly puts their safety at risk.

It is truly unfortunate and extremely disappointing that you chose to publicly attack us before taking the time to review our policies and/or contact us for information, which would have obviated the need for your letter. Had you or your staff made the slightest effort, you would have found most of the answers to your questions already existed and were publicly available online at http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/pp.html and https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/my-disney-experience/privacy-policy/.

In the enclosed attachment, we address the questions in your letter about our new, yet-to-be­ launched program, MyMagic+. However, to ensure that you fully understand our practices as they pertain to children, and our commitment to our guests’ privacy, let me be clear and reiterate the basic facts.

MyMagic+ is a completely optional program that was designed with privacy controls from the outset. Disney does not use personal information to market to children under age 13, does not personalize or target advertisements to an individual child, and never shares children’s personal information with any third party for their marketing purposes. Additionally, parents have full control over their child’s participation in MyMagic+. We have transparent privacy practices, guests can control and limit the amount of information they provide to us — and how their information is used.

Further details are attached

Sincerely,
Robert A Iger

Source

Meh there's a pretty good chance that the stupid residents of my state will elect him to the senate. Brown's win was a fluke and how he's polling against Markey now doesn't matter. It's all about Markey's most valuable asset in this state, the "D"

but the ever-burgeoning ability for private enterprise to gather huge amounts of person data on us is certainly, I think, reasonable for the government to look into.

For better or worse, the US has very little in the way of legal protections of personal information. There isn't much basis for "government" to look into this, as there are few laws that compel any entity to respect the privacy of personal data. This is in stark contrast to the EU, in which personal data is quite seriously protected.

Iger rocks.

How do I +1 Iger?