Favorite EFF wrote recently about Locate X, a deeply troubling location tracking tool that allows users to see the precise whereabouts of individuals based on the locations of their smartphone devices. Developed and sold by the data surveillance company Babel Street, Locate X collects smartphone location data from a variety of sources and collates that…
All posts tagged Locational Privacy
The Human Toll of ALPR Errors
Favorite This post was written by Gowri Nayar, an EFF legal intern. Imagine driving to get your nails done with your family and all of a sudden, you are pulled over by police officers for allegedly driving a stolen car. You are dragged out of the car and detained at gun point. So are your…
Federal Appeals Court Finds Geofence Warrants Are “Categorically” Unconstitutional
Favorite In a major decision on Friday, the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that geofence warrants are “categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.” Closely following arguments EFF has made in a number of cases, the court found that geofence warrants constitute the sort of “general, exploratory rummaging” that the drafters of the Fourth…
Senators Expose Car Companies’ Terrible Data Privacy Practices
Favorite In a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week, Senators Ron Wyden and Edward Markey urged the FTC to investigate several car companies caught selling and sharing customer information without clear consent. Alongside details previously gathered from reporting by The New York Times, the letter also showcases exactly how much this data…
EFF to FCC: SS7 is Vulnerable, and Telecoms Must Acknowledge That
Favorite It’s unlikely you’ve heard of Signaling System 7 (SS7), but every phone network in the world is connected to it, and if you have ever roamed networks internationally or sent an SMS message overseas you have used it. SS7 is a set of telecommunication protocols that cellular network operators use to exchange information and…
The Next Generation of Cell-Site Simulators is Here. Here’s What We Know.
Favorite Dozens of policing agencies are currently using cell-site simulators (CSS) by Jacobs Technology and its Engineering Integration Group (EIG), according to newly-available documents on how that company provides CSS capabilities to local law enforcement. A proposal document from Jacobs Technology, provided to the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and first spotted by the Boston Institute…
Car Makers Shouldn’t Be Selling Our Driving History to Data Brokers and Insurance Companies
Favorite You accelerated multiple times on your way to Yosemite for the weekend. You braked when driving to a doctor appointment. If your car has internet capabilities, GPS tracking or OnStar, your car knows your driving history. And now we know: your car insurance carrier might know it, too. In a recent New York Times…
EFF to Court: Electronic Ankle Monitoring Is Bad. Sharing That Data Is Even Worse.
Favorite The government violates the privacy rights of individuals on pretrial release when it continuously tracks, retains, and shares their location, EFF explained in a friend-of-the-court brief filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In the case, Simon v. San Francisco, individuals on pretrial release are challenging the City and County of San Francisco’s…
Sen. Wyden Exposes Data Brokers Selling Location Data to Anti-Abortion Groups That Target Abortion Seekers
Favorite This post was written by Jack Beck, an EFF legal intern In a recent letter to the FTC and SEC, Sen. Ron Wyden (OR) details new information on data broker Near, which sold the location data of people seeking reproductive healthcare to anti-abortion groups. Near enabled these groups to send targeted ads promoting anti-abortion…
Unregulated, Exploitative, and on the Rise: Vera Institute's Report on Electronic Monitoring
Favorite Incarceration rates in the United States have long been among the highest in the world, and in response to the systemic flaws and biases unveiled by the renewed scrutiny of the criminal legal system, many advocates have championed new policies aimed at reducing sentences and improving conditions in prisons. Some have touted the use…