Location data firm helps police find out when suspects visited their doctor

Leaked form shows how Fog Data helps cops find where suspects have been and when.

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[launcap]

Leave your phone at home, and/or turn it off when you're not using it. Consider wearing a Donald Trump mask when you go out, too, because I'm sure companies like this will quickly integrate with video sources public and private, and use face recognition to watch your every step.

But that's OK - it's not Government abusing their position! Capitalism good!

(The fact that the government will use them as warrentless surveilance is probably beyond the mental reach of most of the MAGA crowd. They still haz their freesdumbs.)

 

[launcap]

"phone was in motion moving around suspect's home"

I've go a great idea - a phone holder that attaches to the dogs collar and a random noise generator outside to make the dog get up to see what's going on.

Patent Pending.

 

[serafean]

When the East German government fell, the Stasi archives were opened to the public, and individuals could access their own personal files.

People learned which of their neighbors were informants and collaborators and secret police. I cannot imagine that their friendships and social relations survived that revelation.

Just something that the people involved with these companies ought to consider. Nobody likes snoops and busybodies.

For anyone who would like an insight on how this worked, and then happened, I suggest watching "The Lives of Others". The only improbable part of this movie is the Stasi guy not being absolutely evil.

 

[wourm]

My first thought was, "Who is able to get a doctor's appointment these days?!"

 

[Geeklaw]

When the East German government fell, the Stasi archives were opened to the public, and individuals could access their own personal files.

People learned which of their neighbors were informants and collaborators and secret police. I cannot imagine that their friendships and social relations survived that revelation.

At least today we don't have to wait for government to fall to know which of our neighbors are collaborators, they happily tell on themselves by having the biggest weirdest signs all over their lawn and cars.

 

[CarlLucas]

And if they keep doing it? What then?

Luigi

 

[muckz]

Surely, there is a way to control it? If I only let some apps access my location only while i'm using those apps (no background location gathering), where do they get their location data from? Short of the built-in weather app on iPhone, there aren't too many that use background data - and even if they exist, they are only official apple apps, or google maps.

Somehow I suspect there are more access points than third-party apps with location-in-the-background setting.

 

[astarre]

We should start a Go Fund me to purchase all of the locational and behavioral data of these company's leadership and workers. Or do you think they're opted all of their data out of their systems?

 

[Kiru]

Would turning off Location Services in iOS help? I already do this ( I don't use my cell phone that much), but I wonder if there are other parts of the phone that bleat your location regardless.

 

[jimlux]

Maybe put the phone on you dogs collar so that not only do you have geolocation data saying you're at home, you also have data from it's accelerometer showing that you're moving around at random while you're at home.

That accelerometer data would make it pretty easy to tell that the phone wasn’t being carried by a human.

 

[Hmnhntr]

There has to be better ways to change morale repugnant corporate greed than glorifying public execution while violating basic 6th amendment rights to a fair trial. We, the collective WE, need to stop invoking this man's name anytime a company does something evil. Or we are no better then:
View attachment 97509

We're not cops.

 

[Bearshark]

Yes, of course it is

Is it really a violation of privacy when we're all freely walking around with trackers in our pockets?

Maybe time to turn the phone off. I dunno.

I have one of these:

https://slnt.com/products/faraday-cage-sleeves-for-phones?variant=18335583010913

 

[Veritas super omens]

The system has failed. Full stop. The corporations, now not only own the means of production, but de facto the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of government. "Luigied" is thought by some to be the only recourse when trying to gain traction against the vast asymmetry the unholy alliance of business and goverment (fascism) entails. I have no doubt others will follow this mans misguided tactic. I am not sure what other recourse the offended have. The corporations in alliance with politicians (primarily, but certainly not exclusively, of one color) have derailed the fair elections needed to counterbalance these forces. Add the impending specter of AGCD, the wholesale destruction of natural biomes via encroachment and toxins, the lurch to the right in a host of other polities and the future looks very bleak for civilization.

 

[mmiller7]

Perhaps it is time to consider going back to the Motorola Razor flip phone as a main phone...

IMO those are still cool devices even by modern standards.

 

[ghostcarrot]

When the East German government fell, the Stasi archives were opened to the public, and individuals could access their own personal files.

People learned which of their neighbors were informants and collaborators and secret police. I cannot imagine that their friendships and social relations survived that revelation.

Just something that the people involved with these companies ought to consider. Nobody likes snoops and busybodies.

That social pressure only has an impact if it's actually your neighbor. These are programmers maybe hundreds or thousands of miles away.

 

[Icantdrive55]

This will be fun when States like Idaho and Texas start investigating pregnant women for leaving the state like they're already threatening and trying to do

 

[Zapitron]

What would the "Bork Tapes" (which was a factor in enacting the Video Privacy Protection Act) we should be trying to get, in order to infuriate Congress into outlawing this type of surveillance?

 

[vikarti]

Not having your phone will be illegal at that point.

Define 'phone'.
Is Nokia 3310 ok?
Is Huawei-android based phone ok?(with Chinese spyware but without much of pre-installed USA spyware)
Is Russian AuroraOS-based phone ok?(with possible Chinese baseband-level spyware, Russian OS level spyware, Mostly-Russian app-level spyware)
Is Pixel with LineageOS/GraphenOS ok?(and apps would only get location access when it's necessary for user)
If not - why not?
What about phone with SIM without data plan?

 

[vikarti]

Surely, there is a way to control it? If I only let some apps access my location only while i'm using those apps (no background location gathering), where do they get their location data from? Short of the built-in weather app on iPhone, there aren't too many that use background data - and even if they exist, they are only official apple apps, or google maps.

Somehow I suspect there are more access points than third-party apps with location-in-the-background setting.

One of ways: ads in 'allowed' apps.

 

[SportivoA]

What would the "Bork Tapes" (which was a factor in enacting the Video Privacy Protection Act) we should be trying to get, in order to infuriate Congress into outlawing this type of surveillance?

Compared to the era of video rentals, who's still left who has the shame? Threats to personal safety won't be it. Marital fidelity can be written off, obfuscated, or ignored. Medical procedures for family just the same. Or the exposure will just be politically expedient for division in the legislature rather than closing ranks of concern for the officials.

 

[Dusfud]

Hmm.. goes back to slowly making progress on getting my pinephone to be a usable daily driver (works fine on the interwebs now, waydroid when I need it, now I just need to get a new sim card).

Good ole' removable batteries and dipswitches to kill wifi / cell / bluetooth. Root access on android without exploits - take that "allowBackup=false" jerks! (Seriously, my first transfer, almost all apps moved over, nowadays, like 2 of them)

Note for any would-be purchasers: I actually got the pro, and it definitely performs fine (vs recent pixel), but no camera support yet - reports are the camera hardware on the non-pro is better supported.

 

[awshirley]

If the proposed order takes effect, "Gravy Analytics and Venntel will be prohibited from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data in any product or service, and must establish a sensitive data location program," the FTC said.

Just like trying to close the barn door after the animals escaped. The data has already been sold. Every lowlife that purchased it should be required to purge the data and prove they purged it.

 

[Caven]

Define 'phone'.
Is Nokia 3310 ok?
Is Huawei-android based phone ok?(with Chinese spyware but without much of pre-installed USA spyware)
Is Russian AuroraOS-based phone ok?(with possible Chinese baseband-level spyware, Russian OS level spyware, Mostly-Russian app-level spyware)
Is Pixel with LineageOS/GraphenOS ok?(and apps would only get location access when it's necessary for user)
If not - why not?
What about phone with SIM without data plan?

Why not? Because a government that decides to make carrying a phone a legal requirement will probably also dictate which phones are legal to sell and require cellular carriers to only allow approved phones on their networks. The phones that are legal to sell will probably be required to have anti-tamper features, as well as whatever privacy-invading features the government deems necessary. A phone detected as having unapproved modifications will probably result in the owner being prosecuted. Toss in a loaded term like "untraceable crime phones", and people will clamor to be protected from them.

 

[EnPeaSea]

Why not? Because a government that decides to make carrying a phone a legal requirement will probably also dictate which phones are legal to sell and require cellular carriers to only allow approved phones on their networks. The phones that are legal to sell will probably be required to have anti-tamper features, as well as whatever privacy-invading features the government deems necessary. A phone detected as having unapproved modifications will probably result in the owner being prosecuted. Toss in a loaded term like "untraceable crime phones", and people will clamor to be protected from them.

Politicians speaking against the plan will be tarnished as "soft on crime" and "protecting pedophiles"