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Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

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Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#91

Post by gruez »

Frost1x wrote: post #68
thisislife2 wrote: post #44

From the comments, it appears many are not aware that even the US government buys location data of users from data brokers - How the Federal Government Buys Our Cell Phone Location Data - https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/how-federal-government... ... Apparently, US cell phone companies are one of the providers of this data - US cell carriers are selling access to your real-time phone location data - https://news…

We really have a societal problem in that we allow private entities to do things we don’t allow government to do. Furthermore, the issue is exacerbated by then allowing governments to bypass these issues by then just paying private entities to do the things it can’t do as a proxy for the same functional outcomes. But we want to support privatization at all cost, even when privatization these days has significant infl…

>We really have a societal problem in that we allow private entities to do things we don’t allow government to do.

It really isn't, given that the government literally has a monopoly on violence, and therefore it makes sense to have more guardrails for it. That's not to say private entities should have free reign to do whatever it wants, but the argument of "private entities can do [thing] that governments can't, so we should ban private entities too!" is at best incomplete.

>Furthermore, the issue is exacerbated by then allowing governments to bypass these issues by then just paying private entities to do the things it can’t do as a proxy for the same functional outcomes.

Again, this is at best an incomplete argument. The government can't extract a confession out of you (5th amendment). It can however, interview your drinking buddies that you blabbed your latest criminal escapades to. Is that the government "bypassing" the 5th amendment? Arguably. Is that something bad and we should ban? Hardly.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#92

Post by xboxnolifes »

Frost1x wrote: post #68
thisislife2 wrote: post #44

From the comments, it appears many are not aware that even the US government buys location data of users from data brokers - How the Federal Government Buys Our Cell Phone Location Data - https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/how-federal-government... ... Apparently, US cell phone companies are one of the providers of this data - US cell carriers are selling access to your real-time phone location data - https://news…

We really have a societal problem in that we allow private entities to do things we don’t allow government to do. Furthermore, the issue is exacerbated by then allowing governments to bypass these issues by then just paying private entities to do the things it can’t do as a proxy for the same functional outcomes. But we want to support privatization at all cost, even when privatization these days has significant infl…

> We really have a societal problem in that we allow private entities to do things we don’t allow government to do.

Thats basically the foundational idealogy of the united states. Thats not the issue.

The real issue is your next sentence. The government can just loophole around their intentional limitations by paying private companies to work on their behalf.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#93

Post by iJohnDoe »

apparent wrote: post #69
meindnoch wrote: post #45

What if I told you that carriers can also activate your phone's microphone without your knowledge and listen in on your surroundings?

One of the reasons I use iPhones is that Apple controls an integrated hardware/software experience, which makes it less likely that private information is being leaked despite the presence of privacy controls.

I wouldn’t be so confident. The article even references this. Apple has used third-party baseband devices in the iPhone since the beginning, which was from other manufacturers. All bets are off regarding security when this is the case. This does included microphone access.

The article touches on this by saying Apple is making the baseband/modem hardware now. Something they should have done since day one, and I’m not sure what took them so long. However, it was was clear they didn’t have the expertise in this area and it was easier to just uses someone else’s.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#94

Post by peyton »

Frost1x wrote: post #68
thisislife2 wrote: post #44

From the comments, it appears many are not aware that even the US government buys location data of users from data brokers - How the Federal Government Buys Our Cell Phone Location Data - https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2022/06/how-federal-government... ... Apparently, US cell phone companies are one of the providers of this data - US cell carriers are selling access to your real-time phone location data - https://news…

We really have a societal problem in that we allow private entities to do things we don’t allow government to do. Furthermore, the issue is exacerbated by then allowing governments to bypass these issues by then just paying private entities to do the things it can’t do as a proxy for the same functional outcomes. But we want to support privatization at all cost, even when privatization these days has significant infl…

Why not vote for some law limiting the government’s buying of this data? After all, I expect a say in how the government is run, so that seems like the appropriate path. I don’t see why I should expect a say in how AT&T is run. AT&T can’t raise an army, or enter my house, or shoot me.

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#95

Post by gruez »

TheNewsIsHere wrote: post #50
OGEnthusiast wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Kinda funny that the most secure phone setup in the US is an iPhone Air on Boost Mobile. Who could have predicted that!

It isn’t restricted to Boost Mobile. It is only available on devices with the C1 or C1X modem, though. I assume this is because of specifics with the third party modems that most models in the wild have vs what Apple is doing in-house with their C1(X). If you call emergency services it will still provide precise location.

>It isn’t restricted to Boost Mobile.

Why does it list specific carriers, then?

Re: Mobile carriers can get your GPS location

#99

Post by kelnos »

peyton wrote: post #94
Frost1x wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We really have a societal problem in that we allow private entities to do things we don’t allow government to do. Furthermore, the issue is exacerbated by then allowing governments to bypass these issues by then just paying private entities to do the things it can’t do as a proxy for the same functional outcomes. But we want to support privatization at all cost, even when privatization these days has significant infl…

Why not vote for some law limiting the government’s buying of this data? After all, I expect a say in how the government is run, so that seems like the appropriate path. I don’t see why I should expect a say in how AT&T is run. AT&T can’t raise an army, or enter my house, or shoot me.

How exactly do I vote for such a law? We do not have a direct democracy, and I'm not aware of any viable political candidates that have this sort of thing as a part of their platform.
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