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

It's their service

[jmu1]

You can CHOOSE not to use it. If you want privacy... don't walk around with your pants down and expect not to be seen. You make the decision to use their product. Why you have an expectancy of any privacy at all is beyond me. Hell, I'd make you pay for it... the privacy that is. Hey, that's not a bad idea. Make everything non-private and charge for privacy expectations!

targetting Linux users/developers?

[tps12]

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.

I wasn't too concerned over this until I read your response. One huge segment of phone calls is due to modem uses. And who are the primary users of modems these days? Why, the same people who won't shell out for a commercial OS, won't shell out for broadband, either: Linux users. Not to mention that a lot of Linux users and developers come from second- or third world countries like Finland, China, and France, where broadband isn't even available.

I wonder if this is just the next step in the government's War on Linux. First label us all hackers (now subject to life imprisonment), then monitor our Internet usage, finally force everyone to use DRM hardware and take away our rights.

I'm scared.