ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods • Hacker News Board

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#11

Post by atoav » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:25 PM UTC

nemomarx wrote: post #5

Any tips on how to avoid this? I suppose those tin foil signal blockers might be useful?

The true answer is: Hold your politicians accountable for this at every level, including at the "boring" local level and on all levels all the way up to the top.

This type of problem needs to be fixed on the society level.

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#12

Post by phillipcarter » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:26 PM UTC

jtfrench wrote: post #7

phillipcarter wrote: post #3

The most maximally vindictive candidates are earning my votes in the coming election.

What if their maximally vindictive traits just makes them want to use the same invasive tools and techniques?

Like today?

It’s entirely possible to prosecute the heads of all of these horrific things into the stone age, comb through internal data and throw every agent who’s murdered someone in jail, and not punish everyday people who just cast a vote.

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#13

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:26 PM UTC

phillipcarter wrote: post #3

The most maximally vindictive candidates are earning my votes in the coming election.

[deleted]

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#14

Post by titzer » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:27 PM UTC

Wait until they find out what Google Location Services collects.

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#15

Post by standardUser » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:28 PM UTC

I wish this country had a libertarian right that cared one iota about widespread suppression of civil liberties instead of only whining about taxes.

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#16

Post by anjel » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:29 PM UTC

titzer wrote: post #14

Wait until they find out what Google Location Services collects.

I did a deep dive into gemini privacy decs and apparently google is now also into the financial credit score business.

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#17

Post by silisili » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:30 PM UTC

phillipcarter wrote: post #3

The most maximally vindictive candidates are earning my votes in the coming election.

> most maximally vindictive candidates

I think that's how we got to this point today, tbh.

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#18

Post by empath75 » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC

phillipcarter wrote: post #3

The most maximally vindictive candidates are earning my votes in the coming election.

Yeah I get into a more Jacobin and less Girondin mindset every week that goes by.

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#19

Post by everdrive » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC

So this is getting to be pretty real and pretty scary. How many of you have actually considered just not using your mobile phone any longer? Turning it off, only powering it on when you need it, and not bringing it when you leave your home?

Within a lot of our lifetimes, this was the norm. Are these devices so useful that put up with carrying a tracking / listening device on us at all time?

Re: ICE's Tool to Monitor Phones in Neighborhoods

#20

Post by icameron » Thu, Jan 08, 2026, 5:31 PM UTC

When I first heard the advice to ditch your phone when you go a protest, I thought maybe that's a little extreme. But it's a real threat. We already knew post Snowden there is an extensive big brother apparatus. We saw post 911 that all rights can be taken away in the name of counter-terrorism. Now with a government that's operating outside the law and labeling peaceful protesters as terrorists, I don't think we can rely on telcos to protect our identity. The mass surveillance will fingerprint a device, and the telco will know your name so it's not at all an extreme precaution to ditch your phone.