FCC Allows Bells to Sell Your Telephone Usage Data

Devistater writes "Spotted on hardocp. The FCC said in a ruling yesterday that telephone companies can sell your name, who you call, and for how long you talk to anyone who is an "affiliate." No longer is this required to be an opt in marketing approach, now its OPT OUT. Sounds like spam is coming to the telephone world, and what an egregious breach of privacy. Article on PCWorld has some of the details." There's also a short Reuters story and a good one on ecommercetimes.com.

Comments

So much for court warrants ...

[jc42]

This means that now all any government agency needs to do is set up a dummy corporation that's an "affiliate", and my phone company will give them unlimited access to all the data about me.

Ya gotta admit, it's a neat end run around the laws that restrict government surveillance.

Oh, well, I suppose as a known computer programmer, I'm already on all the lists of suspected terrorists.

Ways to defeat automated calling systems

[rbabb]

I found out that a good way to defeat the computers that do automatic dialing is to place the tone for a wrong/disconnected number at the beginning of your answering machine message, followed by a second or 2 of silence, and then your real message. Then set the number of rings to like 1 or 2. This way the machine hears the tones for a wrong number and immediately hangs up, whereas everyone else is slow compared to a computer and will hear your message just as they are thinking they might have a wrong number. It might be a little confusing for some people at first, but after you explain it to a few people everyone should understand what you're trying to do.

Just always remember that it's better to use their own system against them, then to just sit there and take it up the a$$.

Rob

bankruptcy?

[sckeener]

I hate the ending of the article:

As a related matter, the FCC is currently seeking industry comment on the use of information about customers whose telecommunications carriers have gone out of business or have filed for bankruptcy protection.

If it follows rulings similar to dot.coms, then those records are assets and will be sold to the highest bidder to pay debts. Ouch!

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

It's not about spam calls, it's about your future

[Reziac]

The people who are whining about how this will increase junk phone calls just don't get it. WHO you call can impact your life a helluva lot worse than that.

Let's say you call the local AIDS hotline to ask 'em a few questions. You become interested in the topic and call back several times.

Fast-forward a few months or years...

Your health insurance company buys a phonecall database. Lo and behold, there's your calls to the local AIDS hotline. Your health insurance company cancels your coverage (and blacklists you so you can't get health insurance anywhere) because it's obvious to them that you must have AIDS (why else would you call an AIDS hotline?) therefore you are a bad insurance risk.

Or...

Let's say you're an MD. You occasionally call a friend who works as a receptionist at the local abortion clinic, just to chat.

Months later...

A radical anti-abortion group buys a 3rdhand phonecall database. Egads, here's a doctor who dares to be in contact with an abortion clinic! Shortly thereafter, you are shot and killed as you leave your home to drive to work.