Cellphone carriers can listen in through your phone? Posted Aug 5, 2005, 10:20 AM ET by Ryan Block
We¹re always a little wary of that very blurry line between protection of the general public and infringements on basic civil liberties, but it would appear that according to the Financial Times by way of the Guardian, at least one UK cellphone carrier not only has the power (and mandate) to remotely install software over the air to users¹ handsets that would allow for the kind of monitoring we thought only perverts and paranoiacs had access to: picking up audio from the phone¹s mic when the device isn¹t on a call. While don¹t think the backlash on this one has really gotten underway yet, and though we do hate to rock a cliché, we can¹t help but be reminded of that classic Benjamin Franklin quote, ³They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.² What¹s worse, a cellphone carrier and The Man are gonna take it from us without our permission on the sly? http://cellphones.engadget.com/entry/1234000563053276/ Guardian Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/mobile/article/0,2763,1542338,00.html You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
