patrick.net

As if the retailers seeking to track our every move for "marketing" purposes isn't bad enough:

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/11/were-watching-malls-track-shoppers-cell-phone-signals-to-gather-marketing-data.ars

Now there is this:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/security/mobile/231903096

Apparently, Carrier IQ is a program that some mobile carriers (Verizon and Sprint - as noted in the article) are including as part of their pre-loaded default applications that stealthly operates in the background without the end-user even knowing about it. It tracks ALL of your activity on your "smartphone", i.e., calls made, texts sent/received, websites visited, keystorke logging etc., all in the name of improving the user experience on behalf of the carrier. Sounds like a great way for our Corruption Enforcement Officers to circumvent the judicial warrant process! I've always wondered why these "smartphones" are so cheap - after all, I gots mines for FREE! Yey! All this was discovered by this programmer dude Trevor Eckhart - may the Shakers (extinct celibate religious sect) bless him..

As if that isn't bad enough, the software manufacturer (Carrier IQ) tried to "silence" him with legal strong-arm tactics (Cese-and-Desist) on the grounds that he is infringing on copyrighted material and is making "false allegations" that the company was upset with. They even told him how he needed to publicly apologize for his efforts, verbatim. See article here:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/11/carrieriq-censor-research-baseless-legal-threat

See actual cese-and-desist letter here: https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/eckhart_cease_desist_demand_redacted.pdf

Thankfully for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, this did not happen (at least yet) as they issued their own letter in defense of Mr. Eckharts findings and publication of those findings, under "fair-use doctrine" and 1st Amendment Freedom of Speech:

https://www.eff.org/sites/default/files/eckhart_c%26d_response.pdf

A hilarious legal tounge lashing to Carrier IQ for sure, and an embarrassment to boot...

Since this just began barely a couple of weeks ago (11/16/11) - and an issue that is no doubt a complete infringment on privacy rights - it is odd that this has not been widely reported in the mainstream media. I just came across this doing some google searches and reading thread comments myself - wasn't easy to find, but perhaps I'm deaf and blind. Oh well - I guess as the gestapo says: "if you aren't doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to fear" (which obviously negates the notion of "innocent till proven guilty")....

What is happening to our Bill of Rights?? Seems like they - along with the freedoms they grant us - are slowly being eroded...

Certainly more evidence that we are living under a facist-crony-plutarchian-kakistocracy...

But at least we are free to choose which carrier we want, or soap to use, to toothpaste to brush with, or TV to buy, or automobile to drive, or booze to drink, or pharmaceutical to take, or phoney (D/R) politician to vote for, etc., etc... You get the point....

Oh, and here is a link to Mr. Eckharts free app to determine if you have this spyware on YOUR "smartphone":

http:/.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17612559&postcount=110

Bedtime. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz