HotBedInfo, 4/27/11
With all of the controversy surrounding the iphone tracking discovery, Apple has recently claimed not to be responsible for this and blamed the tracking on a “bug.” Surprisingly, Apple is partially right. What most people are not aware of is that the government has implemented many laws targeting service providers, resembling what many would say are right out of the classic book, 1984. So where are these laws? When were they established?
The following bombshell will open your eyes to the world in which reality boldly slaps you in the face:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has retained authority in the 1996 Telecommunications Act; Section 222 to REQUIRE service providers to comply with wiretapping requests.
The Act includes new protection and law enforcement access provisions for electronic communications and stored wire and transactional records access to phone records and email. On February 8, 1996, President Clinton signed this landmark reform for telecommunications legislation into law, amending the Communications Act of 1934.
Furthermore, At&t itself, has been involved in a lawsuit in the past where it was accused of “illegally handing over its customers’ telephone and Internet records and communications to the National Security Agency (NSA).”
Source: http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2006/05/17
The Patriot Act is another piece of legislation that allows unrestricted tracking of your information. This “Act” was signed by George W. Bush after 9-11. Our current President Obama, voted YES on March 1, 2006, on reauthorizing the Patriot Act
The Patriot Act increases the government’s surveillance powers in four areas:
- Secret searches. It expands the government’s ability to search private property without notice to the owner. (Section 213)
- Intelligence searches. It expands a narrow exception to the Fourth Amendment that had been created for the collection of foreign intelligence info (Section 218).
- “Trap and trace” searches. It expands another Fourth Amendment exception for spying that collects “addressing” information about the origin and destination of communications, as opposed to the content (Section 214).
- Records searches. It expands the government’s ability to look at records on an individual’s activity being held by third parties. (Section 215)
Whether it’s clear or not that Apple “intentionally” created tracking data on it’s users, Steve Jobs, Apple’s Chief Executive, has stated; ”Apple had made mistakes in how it handled location data on its mobile devices, it has not used the iPhone and iPad to keep tabs on the whereabouts of its customers.”
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/28/technology/28apple.html?_r=1&ref=technology
It is clear however, that Service providers must provide tracking information to the Federal Government at any time as a result of many pieces of legislation that this article highlights.
