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Verizon Wants To Share Your Personal Information
hyades1 writes "Gizmodo reports that Verizon is sending out notification letters infested with virtually-indecipherable legalese. In their sneaky, underhanded way, they're informing you that you have 45 days to opt out of their plan to share your personal data with 'affiliates, agents and parent companies.' That data can include, but isn't limited to, 'services purchased (including specific calls you make and receive), billing info, technical info and location info.' If you view your statement on-line, you won't even get the letter. You'll have to access your account and view your messages. However, Read Write Web says the link provided there, called the 'Customer Proprietary Network Information Notice,' was listed as 'not available.' No doubt Verizon would like to reassure you that everyone they're going to hand your personal data over to will have your best interests at heart."
that i have AT&T and they won't ever try to abuse me.
Excuse me now I have to go reset my sarcasm meter. for some reason it gets pegged all the time now.
i thought once I was found, but it was only a dream.
I'm posting here that I'm going to eat all of your staff's pets.
You 15 minutes to reply to this post, or you agree that Bruno the Poodle is my main course.
Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
Look, I know the UK gets slammed regularly here on Slashdot for CCTV privacy issues and government spying, but at least we have a halfway decent Data Protection Act with teeth. A company pulling this kind of shit wouldnt get 2 steps in the UK. Doesnt the US have something similar to deter blatant abuses like this?
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beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his mind he dreams himself your master
While people will complain about this now, and talk about switching to Comcast or whoever, what will happen next is that Comcast &c. will do the same thing, and there'll be noplace left to switch to.
Since it's unlikely there will ever be any sort of sufficient regulation of this behaviour by the government, the obvious solution is for everybody to use VOIP and run TOR. But that's unlikely too.
I guess what I'm saying is, I've lost all faith in large companies to do the right thing. After I saw my tax dollars pay CEOs large bonuses, I just gave up. Game's over man.
Of course, this happens right as people start forgetting about how much Verizon sucks at math.
That Verizon perhaps has already been doing this information sharing. They just want to stop getting penalized for various marketing activities they undertake.
And court rulings that affirm the new regulations requiring opt-in consent.
So the new regulations are finally making them take notice and be more forthcoming about when they share proprietary information??
Verizon might be on the hot seat right now, but, I won't be surprised if notices like Verizon's or similar agreements start being seen from other carriers.
Replying to myself. Looks like it is Verizon Wireless. But it also looks like it's fairly easy to opt out of. You can either do it through your settings on the Verizon Wireless website, or via phone at 1-800-333-9956.
This guy's the limit!
If you are a Verizon Wireless customer like me, the number to call to opt out is given in the actual legal document, here:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/globalText?contentType=Legal%20Notice&textId=181
It takes about two minutes.
~Ben
dammit.
file 'sharing' is wrong. or so we're told.
but DATA sharing, if done by multi million corps - that's ok. yeah....
its not sharing, its SELLING.
orwell was right - you can control thoughts via language. give words an incorrect meaning or redefine them and you're halfway there.
similarly, copying bits is not THEFT but copyright violation. again, manipulating our words to make things not quite what they really are.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Become an "affiliate or agent" of Verizon, and you won't need to use ruses like "pretexting" to get the phone records of your targets.
Good for employers, too, who want to check up on the private calls that its employees make with their own phones.
Schroedinger's Brexit: The UK is both in and out of the EU at the same time!
I had to go through 3 websites/blogs before I got the direct link. So if you have Verizon and want to opt out directly, here you go.
https://ebillpay.verizonwireless.com/vzw/accountholder/profile/CPNISettings.action
Several years ago, my local PBS station was begging for donations. I was about to call in and donate $50 when they said they would give you a 1-year subscription to Fast Company magazine if you dontated $60, so that's what I did. A few days later, I got a postcard in the mail thanking me for my donation and saying I would receive my subscription shortly, but my name was misspelled in a unique way. I never received a single issue of the magazine, but I got several solicitations from various charities with the same misspelling.
A message to all corporations and non-profits: If someone gives you money for a donation, service, or product, be thankful for it and treat them with an ounce of respect instead of turning around and screwing them for a few extra pennies by selling their personal info.
P.S. I never gave another penny to PBS again.
The court case resulting from the 2007 FCC regs requiring consumers to be able to opt to not have their information shared was finally decided on 2/19. That's what caused this notice to be sent. For more information check out this link to the EPIC website: http://epic.org/privacy/cpni/. It includes links to opt out for both Verizon and SBC.
This is not about Verizon. It is about Verizon Wireless, which is a completely separate company (half owned by Verizon and half owned by Vodafone).
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
They've been doing it for a long time, when I signed up with Verizon in November it came with a piece of paper telling about the information sharing and how to opt out. This article seems at least 5 months to late.
Also, I did get a letter in December about it (but I'd opted out when I first signed up).
Personally, I give them kudos for even notifying me (at the signing of the contract even), and more so for the option to opt out (I've had other companies notify me, but no opt-out option, and it's rare that a company even notifies you, they just sell it).
So they apparently lied to congress:
http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/ISPs-Try-To-Prevent-New-Opt-In-Only-Privacy-Law-97991
Verizon statement before Congress:
Verizon believes that before a company captures certain Internet-usage data for targeted or customized advertising purposes, it should obtain meaningful, affirmative consent from consumers." To get that meaningful consent, Tauke said, requires a) explaining to consumers exactly what kind of data are being collected and for what; b) treating a failure to consent as meaning no collection of data for "online behavioral marketing"; and c) consumers' ability to easily opt out if they initially agree but change their minds.
I shocked. Shocked! I tell you...
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
The alternative, in my case (for the internet anyway - I don't use Verizon Wireless or any other cellphones), are anticompetitive, anticonsumer, annoying (or worse) scum.
Sorry, I gotta take potential bad math over such evil.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
From the comments at Gizmodo there was a post that explained how to opt out from your web account
Sign in to the Verizon website.
- On the red bar near the top, hover over "My Verizon." Click on "My Profile." (Don't go over to the sub-menu that pops up.)
- In the second section down, under Phone Controls, there's a link to "View/Edit Privacy (CPNI) Settings." Click on that.
- Voila! Click on the button that says "Don't share my CPNI." Remember to hit the save button before you leave.
Follow these instructions:
1) Call Verizon.
2) Have the representative explain "CPNI."
3) Ask a couple of questions.
4) Ask the representative to OPT-OUT of all your phones.
You have just cost Verizon Wireless about $20.00 for that call.
I have prepaid service through T-Mobile, and I never have to worry about this sort of thing.
Why?
Because all they have on me is a name and a birth date. No address. No social security number. No drivers license number. No credit card number. Nothing. In fact, when I set up the phone they didn't ask for any proof of the validity of the birth date, nor if the name was even mine.
I can buy more minutes at any of their locations, paying cash, to ensure total anonymity.
It costs ten cents a minute. And ten cents a text too. But since I am not prone to lengthy or frequent phone conversations, I still wind up paying significantly less than I would for the cheapest monthly rate of any carrier.
I recommend it.
After about 5 minutes of browsing I found how to get Verizon to stop sharing my personal calling information. The steps to change the setting are as follows:
I do not block ads. I do block third party scripts.
Nor does it seem to apply to my land-line phone or television services over FiOS. I don't see any settings in my Verizon account that relate to the issues discussed here.
Because unofficially, I bet they are doing it already. No everyone who pays enough or is a TLA (three letter agency)
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.