They are on billboards and on TV, on buses and on radio. They pop up online and dot the pages of this newspaper. Advertisements are the driving force in today’s consumer culture, and while they may be entertaining and may inspire us to buy products we will enjoy, they are often a necessary evil, intruding on our personal space and cluttering our world with images and noise.
As cell phones become our means of interaction with the world – expanding beyond the mere capabilities of landline telephones to include web browsers, cameras and personal assistants – they are ripe for the picking by companies seeking to reach potential customers. But cell phone ads, unlike more traditional forms of advertising, carry the potential risk of invading our right to privacy by targeting consumers based on personal information collected from cell phone companies. Cell phone ads seem inevitable, but we do not welcome them wholeheartedly; rather, we anticipate their arrival with serious reservations and encourage lawmakers to do everything they can to ensure that this new form of advertisement does not encroach too much on our privacy.
Proponents of this new wave of advertising are especially excited about the possibility of offering targeted ads by tracking consumers through global positioning systems. Imagine being on your cell phone as you walk by a Best Buy store. Suddenly an ad appears on the phone encouraging you to come in and buy a high-definition TV.
Backers of such ads seek to ensure the public that the ads will be noninvasive and will not appear unsolicited. But if these ads become reality they will set a dangerous precedent. Already it is possible for the web sites we visit and the emails we send to be tracked. It is not comforting to know that another set of eyes may begin watching us, despite all the assurances that there is no malicious intent behind them.
Of course, if we are going to become dependent on cell phones for many of our daily activities, it is only natural that advertisers will seek to take advantage of such a great opportunity to reach potential customers. The ads could create significant benefits for cell phone users who accept them if the cell phone companies offer savings on phone bills in exchange. But there also exists the possibility that, by offering substantial discounts to the users who allow these ads, companies will virtually force their customers to agree to accept them and threaten to hike prices for those who don’t.
Advertisers claim that cell phone ads will not become just another way for Internet spammers and others to assault hapless victims. Politicians have crafted legislation – namely, the CAN-SPAM act – to limit the influence of spam, but as everyone knows, spamming persists. By enacting legislation to regulate this new realm of the cell phone industry, lawmakers can stop a problem before it ever starts.
A good first step would be to require companies to limit advertisements to unobtrusive banners on websites accessed through phones. Consumers should also be required to sign up for tracking systems, rather than being subjected to tracking systems they may not be aware of when they sign their cell phone contracts.
With revelations regarding unauthorized spying by the National Security Agency, Big Brother looms as large as ever. We may not have a choice in stopping ads from appearing on our cell phones, but we can try to make sure they are as harmless as possible.