Verizon will stop selling customer location data to aggregators

Last month, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent letters to Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, asking who they share their customers' location data with and whether those companies obtain customer consent. The move came after reports revealed that a service provided by Securus Technologies -- a company previously reported to have allowed prisons to record calls between inmates and their lawyers -- let a fo rmer Mississippi County sheriff track the cellphones of other officers and a judge without court orders. All four carriers have now replied to Wyden and Verizon has pledged to end its practice of selling location data through intermediary companies.

In its letter, Verizon said that it provides location data through two aggregators -- LocationSmart and Zumigo. They then give other companies access to their location-based services that utilize Verizon's and other carriers' data. Those types of services can include routing calls to the right facility, fraud prevention and vehicle tracking. Verizon told Wyden that not only had it suspended Securus' access to its customer location data, it had also decided to end its arrangements with LocationSmart and Zumigo. "Verizon has notified these location aggregators that it intends to terminate their ability to access and use our customers' location data as soon as possible," the company wrote.

Verizon will still provide data to companies offering services like fraud prevention and call routing, but it won't do so through aggregators. "Verizon will work with aggregators to ensure a smooth transition for these beneficial services to alternative arrangements so as to minimize the harm caused to customers and end users," said Verizon.

AT&T also noted that it works with LocationSmart while T-Mobile told Wyden it works with LocationSmart and Zumigo. Sprint didn't share which firms it works with. However, aside from ending agreements with Securus, none of the other three carriers said they would make changes similar to Verizon's. "Verizon deserves credit for taking quick action to protect its customers' privacy and security," Wyden said in a statement. "After my investigation and follow-up reports revealed that middlemen are selling Ame ricans' location to the highest bidder without their consent, or making it available on insecure web portals, Verizon did the responsible thing and promptly announced it was cutting these companies off. In contrast, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint seem content to continuing to sell their customers' private information to these shady middle men, Americans' privacy be damned."

Other issues with Securus include a data breach and Wyden asked the FCC to investigate the company in May. Last month, LocationSmart leaked real-time location data on its website, spurring the FCC to take action just a day later.

Via: Associated Press

Source: Ron Wyden



via Engadget RSS Feed https://ift.tt/2ypZh5z
RSS Feed

If New feed item from http://www.engadget.com/rss-full.xml, then send me

IFTTT

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs?
Read more