According to CNBC report on June 20, Beijing time, Verizon and AT & T have stated that they will no longer sell geographic location information of mobile phone users to data agency companies, and quit this business that has been criticized for endangering user privacy.
The data enables third parties to determine the precise geographic location of wireless devices without the user ’s knowledge or consent. Verizon said it directly provides user data to two small data agency companies-LocaTIonSmart and Zumigo-and they provide this data to about 75 companies.
Verizon became the first mainstream mobile operator to announce that it will no longer sell such user data to data agency companies. It made the above statement in a letter sent to Senator Ron Wyden on June 15 local time. After the Associated Press reported on Tuesday that Verizon no longer sells user geographic data to data agencies, AT & T announced similar measures.
Figure: Verizon and AT & T plan to stop selling user geographic data to data agency companies
However, neither company said it would withdraw from the sale of geographic data services. In terms of number of users, Verizon and AT & T are the two largest mobile operators in the United States.
Karen Zacharia, Verizon's chief privacy officer, said the company will remain cautious to prevent sabotage of "beneficial services" such as fraud prevention and road rescue activities in emergencies. In an email sent to the Associated Press, AT & T spokesman Jim Greer said that for similar reasons, it would stop selling user geographic locations to data agencies "when the actual situation permits." data.
Last month, Wyden disclosed Securus Technologies and its 3C InteracTIve abuse of geographic location data of mobile phone users. Verizon said that according to the contract, its data can only be used to track the geographic location of the prisoner when the prisoner makes a phone call.
Zakaaria wrote in the letter that Verizon has notified LocaTIonSmart and Zumigo that it plans to "suspend their ability to access and use our customers' location data" as soon as possible.
The geographic location data of Verizon and other mobile operators makes it possible to determine the whereabouts of almost any cell phone in the United States within seconds. Popular business applications for this type of data include monitoring the location of vehicles, packages and employees, bank fraud prevention and precision marketing.
Verizon and AT & T stop selling geographic location data to data agents, which will not affect users' ability to share locations with other applications and services. It affects the ability to provide data to third parties that users do not directly deal with.
After learning that a portal allowed law enforcement officials to track the geographic location of Americans without proper supervision, Wyden wrote to the four major US mobile operators on May 8.
A few days later, a security researcher at Carnegie Mellon University discovered a vulnerability on the LocaTIonSmart website. As long as a hacker with reasonable skills can secretly track the geographic location of almost any mobile phone in the United States and Canada.
Wyden asked mobile operators to determine which third parties obtained user geographic location data, and provided these data to other third parties without obtaining user consent.
With the exception of the two companies — Securus and 3Cinteractive — the four major mobile operators have not disclosed any third-party company names. 3Cinteractive provides data to Securus.
Wyden said in a statement, "Verizon's approach is responsible, and quickly announced that it will end cooperation with these companies."
Laura Moy, deputy director of the Georgetown Privacy and Technology Center, said, "A big concern is that what may be revealed is only the tip of the iceberg." She said that Verizon's move "shows that it There is nothing you can do in the process, it does n’t have this ability, â€as do other mobile operators.
Verizon and AT & T did not respond to the question raised by the Associated Press whether they plan or how to sell location data directly to businesses and individuals. On Tuesday, local time, Sprint and T-Mobile did not respond to this question.
AT & T and T-Mobile stated in a letter sent to Wyden that they would only allow authorized third parties to access the user ’s geographic location information if they obtain user consent or comply with legal requirements. Verizon said it is the same.
Sprint stated that if the data will be used by a third party, users must be notified so that they can decide whether they agree to use their data by a third party.
Analysts say it is quite difficult to estimate the size of the geographic location to track the market.
LocationSmart stated on its website that it is the number one "location-as-a-service" provider because it has access to data from all major US mobile operators and more than 200 corporate customers.
Securosis analyst Rich Mogull said that telecom operators track and sell user geographic location data as a matter of course, and many companies, including Google, are trying to collect consumer geographic location data, "We all have all the time Being tracked, mainly for marketing purposes. "
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