Color us unsurprised that US law enforcers would push hard for surveillance access. Congressman Ed Markey has published a new report on requests to cellular carriers that shows a recent rush of demand for information, including last year. The rates vary sharply, but T-Mobile has seen a yearly hike of 12 to 16 percent, while Verizon has seen its own grown 15 percent -- and Sprint took nearly twice as many surveillance requests as AT&T or Verizon in 2011, despite its smaller size. Markey's concern is that police and other investigators are casting too wide a net and sweeping up innocent customers through widescale requests, potentially violating their privacy in the process. Whether or not cell tower dumps and other broad fishing attempts are problems, carriers have been quick to point out that they have huge teams in place to deal with police requests and cling steadfastly to requiring a warrant when the law demands it. Needless to say, there are a few groups that strongly disagree with that last claim.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Internet
Carriers face big surge in cellphone surveillance requests, raise a few alarm bells originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink 
Reuters |
Congressman Ed Markey |
Email this |
Comments
Senators Edward Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to the FTC this week requesting that the agency open an investigation into how smart TVs collect consumer viewing data and whether manufacturers disclose that practice adequate...
If you're concerned that Facebook may have shared more of your data with device makers than you were comfortable with, you're not alone. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Ed Markey have sent a letter to Mark Zuckerberg asking him to answer questions...
Today, Senate Democrats filed a petition that will force a vote on the FCC's removal of net neutrality protections. The FCC's decision was published in the Federal Register on February 22nd and as per the Congressional Review Act, the Senate has 60 d...
Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) isn't pleased with Facebook and he wants the FTC to do as much as it can to ensure the company is protecting its users' privacy and data. In a letter sent this week to the FTC chairman and commissioners, he requests certa...
Last week, the FCC officially published its net neutrality rollback plans, which were voted on back in December. Today, the next stage of the battle begins. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) has introduced his Congressional Review Act "resolution of...
It's only been a few days since President Trump signed the bill rolling back rules that kept consumer data private from internet service providers, but it looks like Democrats aren't letting this one go yet. A few days ago, Congresswoman Jacky Rosen...