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Your Cell Phone Is Tracking You
PollGuy writes "I had never heard until this article in the New York Times (sacrifice of first born required) about services that let regular people track the locations of other regular people via their cell phones. Nor this: 'A federal mandate that wireless carriers be able to locate callers who dial 911 automatically by late 2005 means that millions of phones already keep track of their owners' whereabouts.'"
In Soviet Russia, cell phone tracks you !
duh
It's like 1984 for teenagers. Turning off the cellphone to move without being tracked seems too similar to avoiding the telescreen.
Another interesting device mentioned in the article is the FollowIt, a vehicle tracking device. Big Brother eat your heart out.
Now for the two minutes of hate...
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troll blacklist. Please mo
As a civil libertarian, I have no problems with this technology being used to track children. The tracking technologies in the New York Times article are features--the various tracking services from the cell phone serivce providers were alled turned on with the knowledge, consent, and at the request of the account holder. The parents payed the bills and gave the kids the phones--the intrusive nature of the tracking devices is a tradeoff. It certainly sucks for the kids who are being tracked, but no ethical or legal rules are being violated, and it doesn't rustle my feathers. I do become concerned when this technology is used outside of the parent-child relationship. Employers should NOT be able to track their employees at all times.... If a company gives its workers cell phones and requires them to be available outside of work hours via the cell phone, the company still shouldn't have the ability to monitor its worker's activities during those non-work hours. Spouses should not have the ability to spy on one another either. This technology should not be activated by the government without a warrant based on probable cause. And don't think you are safe if your cell phone does not have built in GPS technology--some states have the ability to find you even without the GPS tech. Massachusetts, for example, is currently installing hardware and software that can find the location of any cellphone within the state, regardless of the age of the phone. Matthew Pratt's (the kid from the NYT article who kept his old phone to avoid being tracked by his folks) phone would not shield him from monitoring by the govt. in MA (and anywhere outfitted with similar technology). My cell phone, a Motorola T730, only broadcasts the location data if I dial 911, but again, with the type of technology MA is installing, I can be found regardless, so long as the phone as on. This new technology is far more sensitive then the old method of using 3 towers to triangulate the signal. I don't have access to the Boston Globe archives from here (there was an article on this about a week and half ago or so), but as I recall, the system is accurate within a few meters, and again, this is without using GPS. Any cell phone, regardless of age and featureset. Right now, the FCC is refusing to get into the debate, leaving this issue to sort itself out on its own. This is a mistake. Without guidelines, tracking very well might become widespread because it is forced down the throats of people who get their cell phones through their companies, schools, or otherwise don't pay their own bill. Once people don't have a legitimate expectation of privacy, to use the legal terminology, anyone can use the tracking services to track people. The data is even admissible in court.
I can't find the article at this time. However, this has already been posted on /. except it was in the UK.
-illumina+us "I put on my robe and wizard hat..."
It's called triangulation. As long as a signal is sent wirelessly, it can be done. Seriously, if the slashdot crowd hasn't recognized this capability and its uses and misuses by now, I would honestly question the brain power of the readership.
Again, why is this news?
Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor securi
Don't carry a cell phone. Progress always comes at a cost.
Check your manual. The feature is well documented and you can turn it off via your cell phone menus.