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US Military disables ad trackers on troops' phones

theguardian.com

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Re: US Military disables ad trackers on troops' phones

#31

Post by john_strinlai »

jonhohle wrote: post #26
iamnothere wrote: post #18

Wait until they realize that military spouses and children might also need this, and government employees, and sensitive contractors, etc. It’s almost as if “ad trackers” shouldn’t exist at all. The US government used to love this stuff when it was the only one who could abuse it. There might be a different outlook now that the tables have turned.

It seems like stalking laws in most jurisdictions should already cover this. Is there any legal precedent that could help without the need for new laws?

i am not a lawyer, but to the best of my knowledge there are specific criteria for "stalking", one of which being that the stalking causes fear or distress.

the average person (i.e. a "reasonable person" by legal definition, even if us tech folk don't consider it reasonable) is not particularly scared or distressed by targeted ads. some people even like them.

a good lawyer might be able to make something out of it, but i'm not convinced that stalking laws are the right avenue.

Re: US Military disables ad trackers on troops' phones

#32

Post by monotomic »

shevy-java wrote: post #15
tencentshill wrote: post #2

It sounds like they disabled the "advertising ID" OS feature, but there are many other ways to fingerprint a device for advertising. Maybe this will lead to real privacy reform, now that the true risks are apparent. Not to mention ICE using the same data against civilians.

[flagged]

[flagged]

Re: US Military disables ad trackers on troops' phones

#35

Post by sublinear »

danparsonson wrote: post #14
tencentshill wrote: post #2

It sounds like they disabled the "advertising ID" OS feature, but there are many other ways to fingerprint a device for advertising. Maybe this will lead to real privacy reform, now that the true risks are apparent. Not to mention ICE using the same data against civilians.

[flagged]

You insist on using broad brushstroke language like "masked goons". Nobody is going to listen to your lack of nuance on other topics either.

Re: US Military disables ad trackers on troops' phones

#36

Post by macintux »

tencentshill wrote: post #24
danparsonson wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It now directly affects the troops and military, who they ostensibly do care about. Maybe the citizens can have a little privacy reform, as a trickle-down treat.

Trump has demonstrated repeatedly, emphatically, and publicly that he does not care about the troops, or at least certainly not injured/captured/killed ones. Or minorities. Or non-citizens fighting for the country. Or citizens with non-citizen spouses/fiancees/parents.

Re: US Military disables ad trackers on troops' phones

#37

Post by bigyabai »

tencentshill wrote: post #24
danparsonson wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

It now directly affects the troops and military, who they ostensibly do care about. Maybe the citizens can have a little privacy reform, as a trickle-down treat.

The US will still surveil the troops and citizens. All this does is reduce the commercial attack surface for adversaries, privacy be damned.

Re: US Military disables ad trackers on troops' phones

#38

Post by samus »

nonameiguess wrote: post #19

These things need to include more details. What is the report that ads were used to target deployed troops? What is the device use policy as of today? FOBs and semi-permanent installations are not secret locations. They're extremely obvious, have marked fences, gates, and guards in uniform. They're on satellite and aerial photos, sometimes on maps, depending on how long they've been in place. During patrols and any o…

The US military hasn't yet been in a military altercation with a peer adversary that can actually exploit that information. The war in Ukraine shows that these information leaks can have severe tactical consequences.
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