To me it seems, like it or not, the whole industry of collecting, saving, analyzing, and exchanging of information about users personal details and behaviors has to be regulated really really really strict, to the point of near-death perhaps, for the sake of national security.
I think the problem with that is, at least according to an article like this a few months back, in the US it seems the intelligence agencies buy this data at times. It's easier than getting approvals and stuff so I can only imagine our government here in the US would be hesitant to do anything about it. Having the data accessible could also be argued to be "for the sake of national security"
I'm in no way saying you're wrong though. Just kind of losing hope that the US will ever get better.
Governments have been doing this for years with RFID tags (e.g. toll), and license plate readers. The data is used extensively by law enforcement in many jurisdictions, and I find it difficult to believe they'll willingly give that up.
>> The location data comes from mobile phone apps that pass on GPS data for advertising purposes.
Rather than get all angry about "national security", how about we all just stop submitting to this tracking. Turn GPS off. Use adblockers. Don't download stupid little free apps that claim to need your location 24/7. Block/randomize/delete every cookie. The tools are out there.
There’s a couple of points here. One, it’s not likely that your location or my location are that important from a national security standpoint. We’re just not important enough. Politicians, judges and members of the military are different.
Second, we are well past the point where we can just inconvenience ourselves into getting our privacy back, unless your advice is “don’t use a cell phone or car” and “don’t go out in public” (in which case it will be trivial to determine your location anyways).
Data brokers are lifting your location from every ad in every app, GPS on or not. You have much less control over this than you think. Further, you will likely be identified via license plate readers (those solar powered towers at Home Depot for example) and even your tires report a unique identifier.
The tools are absolutely not there, and even if they were available you can't expect ordinary citizens to know they exist or how to use them. This is a legal and civil liberties problem more so than a technological one.
