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Posted by nobody9999 9/11/2025

Court rejects Verizon claim that selling location data without consent is legal(arstechnica.com)
659 points | 86 commentspage 2
xnx 9/12/2025|
Too bad the US spent so much time prosecuting Google, which never sells personal tracking information, instead of Verizon Which sells everyone's data and is also a ISP monopoly in many places.
bryanrasmussen 9/11/2025||
what are the ways you can poison or fake your location data, like if Verizon in response to this decides to offer a cheaper plan for sharing your location data?
codeduck 9/11/2025|
gps spoofer perhaps?
silisili 9/11/2025||
It's much more likely they're selling tower triangulation data, but let me know if that theory is wrong.
its-kostya 9/11/2025||
How much have they profited from selling this vs how much the fine was? Fines these days appear as just a cost of doing business.
cwmoore 9/11/2025||
Retroactively assign all future data value to...the next president?
rickdeckard 9/11/2025|
Or transfer to the "Archive of the presidency" upon retirement of the current president, so it can be used to finance e.g. jet fuel... /s
cwmoore 9/13/2025||
Why not use olive oil instead?
tonyhart7 9/11/2025||
even with user consent, they should ban it period
eagerpace 9/11/2025||
Are there any carriers that don’t do this?
Sandbag5802 9/11/2025|
Funny that you say that, I just discovered this phone service called Cape - https://www.cape.co/

It was co-founded by John Doyle who led Palantir’s national security business before starting this company. I think this comment best describes why Cape was started in the first place:

"Cape is not disclosing valuation, but it’s notable that the funding is coming at a time when startups building military, defense, and security services are getting increased focus and priority at a time when geopolitics are shifting.

While many of those shifts are playing out at a much higher level involving wars, espionage against officers and officials, and major contacts between outsized industrial entities, Cape’s products and its growth are one of the rare examples of how some of that evolution is playing out at a consumer level"

source - https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/19/cape-opens-99-month-beta-o...

Ultimately, I still want to read up on them before considering making the switch.

bsstoner 9/11/2025||
Hi -- I'm Head of Product at Cape (previously led product at DuckDuckGo). We are indeed trying to provide an alternative to all the data collection and sharing major carriers do in the US. Happy to answer any questions people have about Cape.
1oooqooq 9/11/2025||
you have to constantly advertise your location to get cell service (by design, didn't have to be so)

stores scan your phone radio and also aggregate this data to map your store visit.

this was all done with credit cards in the 50s and then outlawed, hence: reward programs.

so, can't wait for Verizon to offer a cell coverage reward program that is nothing but a waiver to your data, just like reward programs from credit cards of yore.

GJim 9/11/2025||
So, when will 'murka wake up and protect its people with real data privacy laws like (or even better than) the GDPR?
danaris 9/11/2025||
Definitely not until after the current fashion of fascism is over.

The only way to be able to get something like that passed will be if we can repudiate the money-first, Christofascist, rule-by-fear ideologies and positions that currently hold sway over one of our two viable political parties.

woadwarrior01 9/11/2025||
The grass is always greener on the other side. I live in the EU and GDPR isn't much better. All it requires is "informed consent" (i.e a click or a tap on a button) from the "data subject" and people can evade privacy with impunity. The only side effect is that those of us on this side of the pond, get ugly cookie banners.
GJim 9/11/2025||
> All it requires is "informed consent" (i.e a click or a tap on a button) from the "data subject"

Correct. Clear, opt-in informed consent to use personal data is the fundamental principle of the GDPR. As it should be. I'm puzzled why you think this is a negative.

> and people can evade privacy with impunity.

Certainly not. The GDPR does not permit data trawling or allowing data controllers to do what they like with your personal data once they have it. It must only be used for the purpose it was requested for.

> ugly cookie banners

Once again, there is no requirement for 'cookie banners'. You are free to use whatever cookies you want to run your site. HOWEVER, if you are using those cookies to track me (advertisers take a bow) then you need my clear, opt-in informed consent to do so. And so you should!

I continue to be astounded at the ignorance some people have of such a vital privacy law; one that is fundamental to modern data use and respect for the customer.

woadwarrior01 9/11/2025||
> Certainly not. The GDPR does not permit data trawling or allowing data controllers to do what they like with your personal data once they have it. It must only be used for the purpose it was requested for.

You might want to read the privacy policies of some of the European fintech and ad-tech companies (nb: I've worked at some of them). They cast a wide blanket over all purposes.

At best, the GDPR only introduces a minor indirection, the problem of hoodwinking the "data subject" into clicking the accept button. At worst, it gives them false sense of privacy, where there isn't much.

GJim 9/11/2025||
> At best, the GDPR only introduces a minor indirection, the problem of hoodwinking the "data subject" into clicking the accept button

True. Some people are daft enough to opt-in and click the "accept cookies" and "give my personal and location data to strangers" buttons. These people don't care about privacy and are beyond help.

> At worst, it gives them false sense of privacy, where there isn't much.

Those of us who bother to understand and use privacy law have very good protection thankyouverymuch.

taneq 9/11/2025||
Oooh ooh now to Mastercard and your credit card transaction records!
Workaccount2 9/11/2025|
Good.

Now apply it to Flock.

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