UK Police Won't Comment On The Tracking of People's Phone Calls

Daniel_Stuckey writes You've maybe heard a bit about Stingray. Over the past couple of years, it has emerged that police forces in the US have been using the powerful surveillance tool, which tricks phones into connecting to a dragnet, to track mobile devices, and intercept calls and text messages. Meanwhile, the London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) continue to remain tight lipped about their use of the technology, leaving citizens in the dark on what privacy protections, if any, are in place for those who may get swept up by the broad surveillance techniques.

Comments

Well

[Spad]

...leaving citizens in the dark on what privacy protections, if any, are in place...

I'll give you a hint, there aren't any.

It's not extra-judicial

[Bruce66423]

There is an judicial organisation with responsibility for oversight of this. The question is whether they are doing their job, and whether the penalties for abuse are sufficient. Given that the answer to both is probably 'no', we clearly do have a problem, but it's too simple to say it is 'extra-judicial'.

Perhaps

[Chrisq]

Meanwhile, the London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) continue to remain tight lipped about their use of the technology,

perhaps they don't want to admit that they don't know how to work the damned thing. Truncheons and battering rams fine, but computers are a little tricky

You need to ask?

[gweihir]

Ok, let me spell it out for you:

- No privacy protection whatsoever. If you take nude pictures, they will be shared around or if you leave your phone on during sex they will be listening.
- No need for reasonable suspicion to do this to you, a whim is enough.
- And no accountability at all on their side.

Clear?

Re:Use a Cell ID identifier on a phone

[l_bratch]

Even if it is happening at cell tower level, who's to say they don't just duplicate a cell ID?