slow.camp : james' personal home page
2018.05.16 : Owning a cell phone in the US means being constantly tracked.
This morning I saw an article on ZDnet that reported the following:
- Major US cell carriers (including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint) are
selling real time location data to third party companies.
- One of those third party companies,
LocationSmart,
is then reselling this data with dubious privacy “safeguards”.
- At least one FORMER police sheriff (and who knows who else) used LocationSmart’s
services to sidestep the need for search warrants to track cell phone user’s
real time location.
So, naturally, after reading the Terms of Use, I tried it myself.
- Using LocationSmart’s “try before you buy” feature, I was able to track my cell
phone’s real time location to within 56 feet accuracy.
I can’t tell you how disappointed I am with these results. It’s easy to be jaded and
say: “of course, what did you expect?”. But No, instead I’ll say:
- Gross!
- Shame on T-Mobile for selling my real time location data without informing
me what data of mine it sells and to whom.
- Where are the laws protecting US citizen’s rights to privacy in this country?
- I should be able to own a cell phone without being tracked in real time by a
collection of shady US corporations.
There isn’t much else to say. All I know is that today I am leaving my cell phone
off and at home. I can’t say for certain if this is out of disgust or out of
protest. But I don’t want that thing on me on today. The cost far, far outweighs
the benefit.
I’m curious when, or if, I’ll pick my phone back up. But the current US legal
environment makes me feel like choosing to use technology is an increasingly abusive
relationship.