back to article Verizon promises to stop selling its subscribers' location data... for now

Verizon has promised to stop selling user location data to third parties in response to a privacy campaign by US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). In a letter [PDF] to the lawmaker, the American telco giant said it has "conducted a comprehensive review" of its "location aggregator program" and as a result would kill the agreements it …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Slurprise Slurprise

    "Verizon was simply selling the data, failing to properly audit its use, and companies have been freely trading in user location data as a result."

    -----------

    Personal Info Slurp meets the law of 'Unintended Consequences'.

    Seem like this is the only game in town anymore, doesn't it folks?

    America Fuck Yeah! House is burning! Get out while you still can!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      ...still can!

      that's funny. That assumes everyone ever could. Some of us, though... we have a fun time of trying to figure out why so many people are trying to get in. Maybe it's because we are Free! To! Choose! whether or not to have mayonnaise served on our shit sandwich. I prefer Valentina.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm beginning to like being invisible more and more.

    1. Dodgy Geezer Silver badge

      Same here....

  3. cd

    Much ado...

    I have visitor stats plugins on my Wordpress sites and use my VZW phone as hotspot, they always show a different location than where I'm really at, VZW typically defaults to a large city or one of its suburbs 2 hours away, sometimes an adjoining state. Confirmed by some retailer websites actually offering me store locations in other states.

    Editors on The Reg can see what their stats show for my visits. Betting they can't tell me where I really am.

    Been this way for years, so much off that I don't really trust visitor stat locations unless they're bolstered by other things, such as an edu host.

    So I think Securus was the one being cheated, which is fine with me.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Much ado...

      That's IP geolocation data. Everyone knows that's mostly worthless, but that's not what Verizon et al were selling. They were selling your location as triangulated by their cell towers. Your Wordpress site was not using that far more accurate data.

      Securus was getting the triangulation data, not the worthless geolocation data web sites get based off IP addresses.

      1. cd

        Re: Much ado...

        Thanks for the info, wondered about that.

  4. EveryTime

    GDPR is heavy, overbearing legislation.

    We need something like that, only stronger.

    1. whitepines
      Happy

      Pass that, and a right to repair law that includes copyrighted software, and the world might just be a better place!

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    AT&T has no reason to believe......

    "AT&T has no reason to believe that there are other instances of unauthorized access to AT&T customer location data"

    Oh really?

    I seem to recall multiple phone calls to AT&T over the last year and a half regarding system apps that were pushed on to our devices that were sendling out latitude, longitude, unique phone identifier, wifi ssids, and any bluetooth enabled devices as well as dodgy advertising SDK's and Facebook sending out even more.

    .

    1. Robert Helpmann??
      Childcatcher

      Re: AT&T has no reason to believe......

      "AT&T has no reason to believe that there are other instances of unauthorized access to AT&T customer location data"

      Oh really?...

      They are misleading by way of being technically accurate. It is no longer a belief if it is a confirmed fact and it is not possible to have "unauthorized" anything if you are complicit in everything.

      1. Tom 35

        Re: AT&T has no reason to believe......

        They have made sure that it's all authorized and paid for in full.

  6. jonathan keith

    "I only sell the gun, Senator."

    "... and thereafter it's entirely the responsibility of the customer to use it safely."

  7. wayne 8

    Customer Privacy is not a priority

    Verizon did not even pause to consider their Customers in this program.

    The IT Culture is sick at VZ.

    A US Patent was issued to the employee that developed Location based SMS commercial text messages.

    The CIO was ecstatic about the capability.

    Common between the two, they both share the national heritage that dominates IT at Verizon.

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