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Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

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Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#201

Post by laumars »

Tsubasachan wrote: post #99
jlarocco wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is kind of our own fault, though. Judging by the sentiment on HN when GDPR was coming into effect, if something like it came up for a vote in the US, a lot of HN users and other tech people would vote against it. There was no shortage of angry geeks posting articles about their service turning away EU users rather than complying with GDPR.

If you work in tech or marketing your salary comes from eroding privacy. There is a lot of money at stake here and people don't vote against their interests. Europeans aren't inherently better: if Facebook and Google were companies founded in Germany or France who knows if GDPR would exist.

Europe has had data protection laws long before Facebook and Google we’re a thing. The concept of GDPR wasn’t invented because the EU were angry at American companies; it exists because there is a need for it. Just as previous incarnations of data protection laws existed in the EU before the web was a thing too.

Also I resent being told that anyone who works in tech gets their salary from eroding peoples privacy. I can guarantee you that hasn’t been the case for any of the jobs I’ve had in my career.

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#202

Post by zorga »

saagarjha wrote: post #155
zorga wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No we don't, it's a terrible law that unnecessarily burdens business and just makes it even harder to run a business. We don't need any more legal hoops to jump through; it's not the users data, it's our data about the user. The notion that data about you belongs to you is frankly absurd, just because the EU hopped on the crazy train doesn't mean the rest of the planet should follow them.

> it's not the users data, it's our data about the user. The notion that data about you belongs to you is frankly absurd Interestingly, I find your viewpoint to be just as absurd. Why shouldn't data about me belong to me? Why can't I tell people not to collect data about me when they are providing me with an unrelated service?

For the same reason a photo take of you in a public place isn't yours, it belongs to the photographer. The Internet is a public space; you don't own the public space and you don't have any right or authority to tell anyone collecting public data that you own it just because you're in it. It's not your data, it's my data, I collected it. You don't want it collected, don't go spewing it out in public spaces.

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#203

Post by zorga »

nothrabannosir wrote: post #163
zorga wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The GDPR doesn't apply to most of the world, it's awful legislation anyway. It's not your data, it's my data about you, I own it, it's in my databases, and if you don't want me to have it, you shouldn't have given it to me freely to begin with.

I'm afraid you accidentally posted your canned response about the GDPR next to an article that directly refutes it. The opening paragraph of the article: > Nervously, I gave a bounty hunter a phone number. He had offered to geolocate a phone for me, using a shady, overlooked service intended not for the cops, but for private individuals and businesses. Armed with just the number and a few hundred dollars, he said he…

And? That doesn't refute anything I said. And no it wasn't a canned response.

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#204

Post by jedberg »

discordance wrote: post #133
jedberg wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yep, I've been doing this for years. Only my wife and a few trusted friends have the real cell phone. Everyone else and their mother gets the GVoice number. I also change the underlying number occasionally just to mix it up even more (although truth be told that's to get better wireless deals, but it has a nice bonus of added security).

How do you avoid giving your mobile number to service providers on sign up (banks, paypal, uber etc)?

Usually it just works. When it doesn't I call them and tell them my phone doesn't work and ask for another way to verify my identity.

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#205

Post by dawnerd »

Larrikin wrote: post #186
dawnerd wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google voice works fine for that... I do the same. It's wonderful.

Google voice used to work fine, but I've found increasingly a number of the more "serious" institutions like banks have been rejecting VoIP numbers like Google Voice occasionally. If I can recall correctly I also believe that many of the chat applications reject numbers that are not tied directly to a SIM as well. I have used my GV since it was still invite only and have had to give out my real number increasingly of…

Noticed my GV number being rejected but the main number I have in GV works. That number was ported back when you could do that (maybe you still can?)

I wonder why that is. Maybe outdated databases?

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#207

Post by a11595 »

dingoegret wrote: post #161
zorga wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're putting the cart before the horse; until you change the government and thus the bail system, we need bondsman. Making bounties illegal won't stop judges from setting bails people can't afford and is thus not a valid solution.

Very dumb argument. There is no cart and there is no horse. Eliminate the bail system and something has to fill the void.

His argument is a common expression, not meant to be translated literally to whatever your first language is. It means don't take a tylenol for the pain - take an antibiotic to kill the bacteria causing the pain. maybe you don't get basic medicine either. I can't explain this to you. You need to go back to r/poland so you don't have to translate.

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#208

Post by adrianN »

dogma1138 wrote: post #109
40acres wrote: post #56

I think we need to reassess how we treat data generated by users via phones, devices and our digital activities. We had the concept of private and public property long before intellectual property became codified by law. I believe that we are entering a new phase which may require the development of a new type of jurisprudence around things like location data. I'm definitely not a lawyer, but I'm starting to believe…

How about we start with not allowing people to legally kidnap individuals? I never understood the whole concept of “bounty hunters” in the US it’s not the Wild West anymore. The problem here is that “fugitive recovery” doesn’t need to meet any of the standards normal law enforcement does and unless they kill someone or injure bystanders there likely won’t be an investigation into their conduct and even if there is on…

I agree with you, but that seems to be a different issue. We'd have to think about data even if bounty hunters wouldn't exist.

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#209

Post by h0mEDw »

zorga wrote: post #202
saagarjha wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> it's not the users data, it's our data about the user. The notion that data about you belongs to you is frankly absurd Interestingly, I find your viewpoint to be just as absurd. Why shouldn't data about me belong to me? Why can't I tell people not to collect data about me when they are providing me with an unrelated service?

For the same reason a photo take of you in a public place isn't yours, it belongs to the photographer. The Internet is a public space; you don't own the public space and you don't have any right or authority to tell anyone collecting public data that you own it just because you're in it. It's not your data, it's my data, I collected it. You don't want it collected, don't go spewing it out in public spaces.

You have a point, but the problem is that there's no way to not spew data out in public spaces. I'd have to cut off all of the following:

  - my mobile phone
  - my landline phone
  - all credit cards and bank accounts
  - all hosted email solutions
  - all other hosted ways of communication (social media, messaging apps)
  - all ways of transport unless I own the devices (and even some cars you could own have telemetry these days...)
Basically only talk face to face, ride old cars and use cash or Monero. It's unrealistic.

Re: Mobile customer location data is ending up in the hands of bounty hunters

#210

Post by StreamBright »

r00fus wrote: post #98
StreamBright wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are lots of things needed in the US.

Meaning, GDRP will be a result of other (political) changes? I'd concur.

Yes. Instead of focusing on corporate profits the US should focus on quality of service (in every aspect of life) for citizens.
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