Privacy, Mobile Phones, and Ubiquitous Data Collection

ChelleChelle writes "Participatory sensing technologies are greatly expanding the possible uses of mobile phones in ways that could improve our lives and our communities (for example, by helping us to understand our exposure to air pollution or our daily carbon footprint). However, with these potential gains comes great risk, particularly to our privacy. With their built-in microphones, cameras and location awareness, mobile phones could, at the extreme, become the most widespread embedded surveillance tools in history. Whether phones engaged in sensing data are tools for self and community research, coercion or surveillance depends on who collects the data, how it is handled, and what privacy protections users are given. This article gives a number of opinions about what programmers might do to make this sort of data collection work without slipping into surveillance and control."

HAM Radio

[moon3]

Is still around, even encrypted -- if you feel the need.

Re:Open source mobile phone?

[chgros]

We need an Open Source mobile phone
Err... There's already one (I have one).
It doesn't work all that well unfortunately.
http://openmoko.com/ [openmoko.com]

Interesting timing...

[natehoy]

I read an article about Google starting to use the location data from Google Maps to analyze traffic patterns to determine where traffic was backed up, etc.

Randomly-found article using, what else?, google: http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/google-uses-your-mobile-to-end-traffic-jams-629554 [techradar.com]

Anyway, just another example where we know the data is being collected, but somehow it feels less comfortable when the data gets used.

Won't stop me from using it if I get to a city where there might be enough cars to actually use the data.

Back in the day of analoge cell phones

[sixbathrooms]

Anyone with a radioshack scanner could listen in on anyones cell phone calls. I remember doing this, and actually found it quite boring. Listening in on peoples phone conversations is like reading random peoples twitters. Who cares when some random guy gets home and wonders whats for dinner, or when you are supposed to pick up your kids from some function? Certainly doesn't worry me any.