DIYbanter - AT&T Stops Selling Location Data Of Americans To Bounty Hunters

AT&T Stops Selling Location Data Of Americans To Bounty Hunters

Fri, 01/11/2019 - 23:25

After Motherboard gave a bounty hunter a phone number and a few hundred
bucks, their contact responded with a screenshot of Google Maps,
containing a highlighted circle indicating the phone’s exact location.

Motherboard then released a report on Tuesday, showing how T-Mobile,
Sprint, and AT&T are selling their customers’ location data, and some of
that data was ending up in the hands of bounty hunters and unauthorized
people, letting them track virtually any phone in the US.

In a swift response to the report, several senators requested the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to investigate, and demanded
greater oversight and regulation of the telecommunications industry.

On Thursday, AT&T released a statement indicating that it is halting the
sale of all location data to so-called location aggregators, firms that
sit in the supply chain between the telcos and clients.

"In light of recent reports about the misuse of location services,
we have decided to eliminate all location aggregation services - even
those with clear consumer benefits," AT&T said in a statement. "We are
immediately eliminating the remaining services and will be done in March."

Some companies use the location data service for legitimate purposes,
such as roadside assistance to find stranded customers, or financial
companies to detect fraud. But, according to AT&T's statement Thursday,
"all location aggregation services" will be cut off.

In Motherboard’s report, the smartphone they located was using the
T-Mobile network. For Motherboard's staff to receive the location, the
data traveled through a complex system of companies, starting with
T-Mobile, before going to a location aggregator called Zumigo. Zumigo
then sold it to a firm called Microbilt, which provides access to a
variety of industries, including bounty hunters. The bounty hunter then
sold it to a source, and that source finally sold it to Motherboard.

After the release of Motherboard’s investigation, T-Mobile CEO John
Legere tweeted that his company is also going to cut off all location
aggregators. Verizon said in a statement Thursday that it, too, will
eliminate the service. Sprint has so far not released any comments on
the issue.

The announcement from major telcos reflects a significant victory for
privacy advocates who have sounded the alarm that corporate America has
mishandled consumers' data, often to sell it off for an economic gain.

“Carriers are always responsible for who ends up with their customers'
data - it’s not enough to lay the blame for misuse on downstream
companies,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D., Ore.) in a statement. “The time for
taking these companies at their word is long past. Congress needs to
pass strong legislation to protect Americans' privacy and finally hold
corporations accountable when they put your safety at risk by letting
stalkers and criminals track your phone on the dark web.”

Other critics said consumers have an "absolute right" to the privacy of
their data.

“I’m extraordinarily troubled by reports of this system of repackaging
and reselling location data to unregulated third-party services for
potentially nefarious purposes,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D., Calif.) said in
a statement. “If true, this practice represents a legitimate threat to
our personal and national security.”

Harris demanded that the FCC immediately open an investigation.

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel tweeted Thursday, "The FCC needs to
immediately investigate reports of this system of repackaging and
reselling location data to unregulated third party services and take the
necessary steps to protect Americans’ privacy."

In another tweet, Rosenworcel added: "It shouldn't be that you pay a few
hundred dollars to a bounty hunter and then they can tell you in real
time where a phone is within a few hundred meters. That's not right.
This entire ecosystem needs oversight."

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-...bounty-hunters