Sara Perry left a clear sign on her electric meter asking NYSEG for her consent before installing a Smart Meter. It didn't work. Here is her story.
Smart and digital utility meters are actively being deployed and mandated across New York State without adequately informing consumers of the health, safety and privacy risks. In some cases, this is happening without notification or consent. Unlike electro-echanical analog meters that have been safely used for decades, smart meters and (some) digital meters emit toxic levels of pulsed radio frequency (RF) radiation, are fire hazards and enable companies to sell near real-time private usage data to third parties. To mandate these utility meters is unacceptable - where there is risk, there must be choice! Fortunately, two bills are moving through the NY State legislature that would protect our families and allow utility meter choice. Take Action and Demand NY Legislators Protect Your Health, Safety and Privacy. Ask New York State legislators to support Assembly Bill A09148 and Senate Bill S5632A, which include the following protections:
Thank you for taking action! The Children's Health Defense Team
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Are they safe? Studies reveal that exposure to smart meter radio frequency (RF) and electro-magnetic field (EMF) is not safe. In addition, smart meters induce dirty electricity into the electrical wiring of a home that can radiate 6-8 feet into the living space. The radio frequency transmission and dirty electricity essentially turn the electrical wiring into a massive antenna. Our website has a health and resources section with more information. What information does a Smart Meter collect? Smart meters continuously gather a variety of data points related to energy consumption. Utilities then employ algorithmic surveillance and customer profiling to create a dossier on you which is clearly a privacy invasion. What can I do to protect myself? Immediately do two things: (1) reject a smart meter upgrade and send the utility a notice of liability; (2) if you have a smart meter, protect your health and shield the meter from interior living spaces and check for dirty electricity in the electrical wiring. Are there any benefits to a Smart Meter? Utilities claim that digital smart meters benefit the environment and consumers. After billions of dollars spent on digital meters, consumers have seen no such benefits. The power grid is more susceptible to hackers due to the vulnerability of smart meters and their wireless mesh networks. Some utilities have abandoned plans to harden the power grid in favor of accepting smart meter federal stimulus and grant funds. What can you do?
Published by: Spy Meter
Smart Meters collect real-time customer data, which raises important questions regarding privacy and algorithmic surveillance. We will explore the various aspects of customer data collected by smart meters, the concerns surrounding third-party data sharing, and surveillance algorithms. Customer Data Collection Smart meters continuously gather a variety of data points related to energy consumption. These include:
Algorithmic Surveillance and Customer Profiling Utility companies may use algorithms to analyze customer data for surveillance and profiling purposes. A partial list of data collection includes the following:
Privacy Implications and Third-Party Data Sharing The extensive collection and utilization of customer data is a significant privacy concern. Are utility company data collection practices transparent and secure? Have you asked the utility company about their Smart Meter data privacy and sharing policy? Utility companies often assert strict privacy measures, however, data may be shared without your knowledge with:
Conclusion Smart meters, through the collection and analysis of time-of-use data and algorithmic surveillance, provide utility companies with unprecedented insights into customer behavior, a clear infringement upon the use of data sharing without consent, addressed in the Help section of our website. What can you do?
Published by Spy Meter
What is the larger picture of a Smart Meter? Be mindful of the terminology. The word "smart" is to deceive you into thinking that it is advanced and to subdue questioning the meter purpose. The utility company presents the word "upgrade" deceptively. You may have the latest technology, but what is the hidden agenda? Aside from the health risk, Smart Meters are a command and control network, a transition to the Smart Grid and the Internet of Things (IoT), which use a variety of technologies to connect the digital and physical worlds. Within the Smart Grid and the IoT your physical location and movement is precisely tracked, and a unique profile of your lifestyle is constructed. Moreover, selling your personal data is very profitable for the utility company. As energy usage is surveilled, algorithms build a picture of your life and habits and then assign a unique user profile score. The sophistication of these back-end processes should not be underestimated, especially when coupled within the IoT meta structure. Little has been said about how a user's profile correlates to services. For example, rate structure and billing. Perhaps during peak demand hours your energy use is too high. You are therefore billed at a higher rate for time of use and your energy profile score is demoted. Part of the end game is to assign everyone an energy profile emission quota linked to carbon credits to save the environment, and when integrated into a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) you could be denied certain purchases for exceeding allowable carbon credit emissions. We hope that you appreciate the agenda of the smart meter control grid, much of which remains to be revealed. In our opinion, customer surveillance and privacy in the larger scheme of the Smart Grid and the IoT is a fundamental breach of law and basic human rights. For more on Smart Meter surveillance and privacy, watch the video on our spy meter page, 'Smart Meter Mass Surveillance'. In addition, here is a quote from the Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, PRIVACY AND THE MODERN GRID, by Sonia K. McNeil. ...smart meters are only one component of the broader transition to the smart grid. This effort, in contrast with past upgrades, is intended to alter permanently the prevailing technological standard for electric meters. The technology sophistication and its saturation are each relevant to privacy. What can you do?
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