Cell Phone Tracking and Privacy Issues
In recent years, people in the United States have had more than a few reasons to be more concerned about privacy issues than ever before.
Considering that there is more of a demand for information across the board, what is done with that information - as well as who has it - can be a major cause for concern.
We already live in times where much of our information is tracked.
Some common things include what Web pages people are surfing [although this is often more anonymous data collected, rather than specific personal data], ATMs collecting data on who took money out and what time.
The government is aware of how much money we all earn because it is sent to them come the end of the year by our employers, and then we report it ourselves when it comes to taxes.
That said, these are, for the most part, mildly invasive and something we have become used to as a society.
However, there is a new cause for concern.
The Federal Communications Commission [also known as the FCC - and one of the most despised governmental organizations] has mandated that all US cellular service providers must enable location finding and tracking chips in all cell phones.
The idea is so cell phones can be tracked, much like home telephones, in the event of calls to 911 emergency services.
However, unlike home telephones, this creates a much greater privacy issue, should the data be compromised or somehow leaked to the public.
With a fixed home telephone line, it's clear where the person is calling from - their home.
However, if personal information about locations leaked, someone who didn't want people to know where they were [for whatever reason; a good example could be someone going to a job interview they don't want their boss to know about] could be exposed by this technology.
Further, the cell phone companies are creating ways to use this technology.
They're laying plans and groundwork for things such as enabling the system to find someone who is lost when driving or hiking, or even to provide information such as local stores, restaurants, or attractions.
While these services are likely to be opt-in, one can not opt-out of the tracking entirely, and that is what upsets privacy advocates more than anything.
Most companies assure their subscribers that they will not do anything nefarious with this information and it will be subject to the same privacy policies that customer's home addresses, credit card information, and other data is held under.
Nonetheless, this is an issue that many people could stand to learn a bit more about, if only to fully understand just how entirely not private their lives really are.
Considering that there is more of a demand for information across the board, what is done with that information - as well as who has it - can be a major cause for concern.
We already live in times where much of our information is tracked.
Some common things include what Web pages people are surfing [although this is often more anonymous data collected, rather than specific personal data], ATMs collecting data on who took money out and what time.
The government is aware of how much money we all earn because it is sent to them come the end of the year by our employers, and then we report it ourselves when it comes to taxes.
That said, these are, for the most part, mildly invasive and something we have become used to as a society.
However, there is a new cause for concern.
The Federal Communications Commission [also known as the FCC - and one of the most despised governmental organizations] has mandated that all US cellular service providers must enable location finding and tracking chips in all cell phones.
The idea is so cell phones can be tracked, much like home telephones, in the event of calls to 911 emergency services.
However, unlike home telephones, this creates a much greater privacy issue, should the data be compromised or somehow leaked to the public.
With a fixed home telephone line, it's clear where the person is calling from - their home.
However, if personal information about locations leaked, someone who didn't want people to know where they were [for whatever reason; a good example could be someone going to a job interview they don't want their boss to know about] could be exposed by this technology.
Further, the cell phone companies are creating ways to use this technology.
They're laying plans and groundwork for things such as enabling the system to find someone who is lost when driving or hiking, or even to provide information such as local stores, restaurants, or attractions.
While these services are likely to be opt-in, one can not opt-out of the tracking entirely, and that is what upsets privacy advocates more than anything.
Most companies assure their subscribers that they will not do anything nefarious with this information and it will be subject to the same privacy policies that customer's home addresses, credit card information, and other data is held under.
Nonetheless, this is an issue that many people could stand to learn a bit more about, if only to fully understand just how entirely not private their lives really are.
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