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back to article Info chief shrugs off Bluetooth regulation

The Information Commissioner will no longer regulate the use of Bluetooth mobile technology, prompting fears of a wave of "Bluetooth spam". The commissioner no longer considers the wireless connection technology to be covered by the UK's privacy laws. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) upholds the Privacy and …

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  1. Andy Worth
    Thumb Up

    Great.....

    So the porn I send out to random phones when I'm out drinking is no longer considered spam?

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  2. Fluffykins Silver badge

    OK - I'll be pleased to receive Bluetooth marketing, and here are my terms

    Right. Anyone who wants to send me unsolicited Bluetooth advertising listen up.

    My phone will be identified as "Fluffykins"

    I don't want to receive unsolicited (spam) marketing messages.

    Haven't you guys heard of Brand Suicide?

    Well, if you want to send me unsolicited (spam) marketing Bluetooth messages, I'll make you an OFFER to receive the message(s), review them and act on them as I see fit for a fee of £50 per message and £100 per kilobyte of any attachment(s), to the nearest kilobyte of file size as reported by my phone.

    If you DO send me any unsolicited (spam) marketing via Bluetooth, this will be taken to indicate your unconditional ACCEPTANCE of my offer, and a legal CONTRACT will then exist between us.

    If you don't like that - then don'd send anything to me. It's as simple as that.

    Yes, I think that's about right.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    The wonderful thing about bluetooth spam...

    ... as compared to real spam, is that the spammer has to be within ten feet of you.

    Believe me, I would *love* it if the bastards who send me email spam had to always be close enough to physically attack!

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Dead Vulture

    WTF? Who ever leaves their BT "unsecured" deserves no better

    To be quite honest, I have to agree, that the Information Commissioner is a numpty in that respect, since BT should be very clearly covered by the Privacy laws of the UK.

    At the same time, I think whoever just allows everyone to connect to their BT device shouldn't be surprised if they get screwed over.

    It's like the 21 year old maiden lying on the bed shouting F$%^ me, and then claiming it was rape!

    Best regards

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  5. Anonymous Coward
    Dead Vulture

    For the best...

    "Users can avoid receiving marketing messages by switching their Bluetooth off or by setting their phones to refuse connections from strangers, but this would affect the way they can use the technology."

    If by "affect" you mean "force people to learn how to use their phone" then it might be no bad thing.

    It was bad enough when I was just being badgered all the time to write polyphonic ringtones for everyone.

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Gates Horns

    perhaps when the spammers have worked it out

    they can go and teach the likes of BMW how to make compatible Bluetooth devices - instead of having just a a dozen fully compatible handsets!

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  7. jon fisher

    Bluetooth2.1

    this will quickly become irrelevant - advertisers will use the NFC (Near FIeld Communications) support in Bluetooth2.1 - users will opt-in to promotions by placing their phones in close proximity (< 10cm) to the advert.

    so yes, currently it could affect the way they use their devices - but once 2.1 arrives NFC will be the standard way of initialising a pairing and this issue disappears.

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  8. Nev

    Received some already...

    at Orly aeroport last week. :(

    Annoying. But easily ignored/disabled.

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  9. Wes Brown
    Thumb Down

    Re: Comments on ‘Info chief shrugs off Bluetooth regulation’

    So what is the ICO left to do? It does f**k all about data protection issues as it is!

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