Is Your Cell Phone Spying on You?

by Jim Cook

Many people have cell phones. Many of those love their phones, and some are so attached to them that they should seriously consider a surgical implant. I am not one of this crowd and, when I was working, only carried a cell phone under protest and rarely turned it on. I figured “why make myself available day and night to any fool who can dial a phone?”
I was always suspicious about radiation problems, something that there appears to be serious research on, finally. I also didn’t like the idea that corporations and others might be able to track my movements, as it now appears that they can. Soon, I understand, cell users may be getting solicitation calls from businesses, the electronic equivalent of junk mail. And cell phone users will have to pay for those calls!

Cell Companies Implanting Carrier IQ on Your Phone

Now comes the news that as many as 141 million cell phones have been secretly implanted with an application by a company called Carrier IQ that reports virtually everything you do on the phone, including text messages, key strokes, places called, and much more. For details, check out this story by Wired Magazine:
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/11/secret-software-logging-video/
Corporate apologists are scrambling to explain that this is all for our own good (of course!), in order to find better ways to “serve us”. They are fighting proposals to require that you explicitly “opt into” this so-called service rather than having to tear your phone apart to get rid of it, something that is not easy to do.
The U.S. Congress and the European Community are investigating and some lawsuits have been filed. Meanwhile, I just added another great reason never to carry a cell phone. Up yours, corporados!   Φ

Jim Cook is a former Oregon labor organizer who retired to Mexico with his wife because he can’t afford U.S. healthcare on his retirement benefits.

1 comment for “Is Your Cell Phone Spying on You?

Leave a Reply