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Google urged to stop collecting phone location data before Roe vs. Wade reversal

18 points by kergonath 4y ago

lupire 4y ago
Lawmakers shouldn't "pressure" private companies. Lawmakers should pass laws to protect people. Delegating human rights to corprations is insane.
- linkjuice4all 4y ago
  There’s a privacy nexus here as well. People seeking private medical advice and services have a shared interest with the general public in their papers and effects not being searched without a good reason. Unfortunately some of this is difficult to restrict in the face of the third-party doctrine - and I mean the very literal fact that _someone_ can see you going somewhere in public and compile a record of it. In effect you’re restricting _their_ right to free speech if you insist that _they_ can’t talk about what they witnessed in a public space (or a record was created automatically that would suggest that those real-world events occurred). But some might consider a lack of bodily autonomy to be forced speech or action by the government on behalf of an entity that lacks personhood. So maybe the crux of the matter here is “you can’t make me”.
legitster 4y ago
>While Google uses location data to target online ads, the company often turns over the data to law enforcement officials who obtain court orders, the Democrats wrote. "This includes dragnet 'geofence' orders demanding data about everyone who was near a particular location at a given time," they wrote, adding that "Google received 11,554 geofence warrants in 2020." Okay, but like, if you are a lawmaker - why not focus on making these digital dragnet warrants harder to get? Especially since law enforcement can still get the location data from cell phone providers.
- kergonath 4y ago
  > Okay, but like, if you are a lawmaker - why not focus on making these digital dragnet warrants harder to get? Part of the point is the fact that the judiciary is being captured by right-wing nutjobs. Getting a warrant from a militant judge is not difficult, and if the system is rotten all the way to the Supreme Court, there will be no recourse. Also, to get a law, you need to get it past the senate, which is also captured by right-wing nutjobs. > Especially since law enforcement can still get the location data from cell phone providers. Yes, that is another problem. And considering that the carriers are in bed with the right-wing nutjobs, good luck with solving it.
  - throwaway69123 4y ago
    This is why you should protect peoples rights even when you disagree with their opinions because power structures always swing left and right
    - kergonath 4y ago
      Indeed! It is also why it’s almost always a bad idea to weaken constitutional protections of all sorts. The guardrails that limit you one day, inconvenient as they are, might save the country once a proto-fascists gets elected. It is also why we should be much more careful than we generally are about what data exactly all these companies keep. It also highlight the importance of a functional legislative branch in the American system. You need impeachment procedures to be possible when another branch goes rogue. Which is exactly why one obstructionist party is very unlikely to become constructive in the near future, unless something like a profound constitutional crisis or a civil war of some sort happens.
rvz 4y ago
Oh wait, now they should stop collecting phone location data? Now it is not fine? Why were they (Google) allowed to collect it in the first place and why wait until now to realise this? Looks like these lawmakers finally received a 'wake up call' that privacy is important.
- Proven 4y ago
hoppyhoppy2 4y ago
See also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31501871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31501871 13 hours ago

18 points by kergonath 4y ago

Lawmakers shouldn't "pressure" private companies. Lawmakers should pass laws to protect people. Delegating human rights to corprations is insane.

linkjuice4all 4y ago
There’s a privacy nexus here as well. People seeking private medical advice and services have a shared interest with the general public in their papers and effects not being searched without a good reason. Unfortunately some of this is difficult to restrict in the face of the third-party doctrine - and I mean the very literal fact that _someone_ can see you going somewhere in public and compile a record of it. In effect you’re restricting _their_ right to free speech if you insist that _they_ can’t talk about what they witnessed in a public space (or a record was created automatically that would suggest that those real-world events occurred). But some might consider a lack of bodily autonomy to be forced speech or action by the government on behalf of an entity that lacks personhood. So maybe the crux of the matter here is “you can’t make me”.

legitster 4y ago

>While Google uses location data to target online ads, the company often turns over the data to law enforcement officials who obtain court orders, the Democrats wrote. "This includes dragnet 'geofence' orders demanding data about everyone who was near a particular location at a given time," they wrote, adding that "Google received 11,554 geofence warrants in 2020." Okay, but like, if you are a lawmaker - why not focus on making these digital dragnet warrants harder to get? Especially since law enforcement can still get the location data from cell phone providers.

kergonath 4y ago
> Okay, but like, if you are a lawmaker - why not focus on making these digital dragnet warrants harder to get? Part of the point is the fact that the judiciary is being captured by right-wing nutjobs. Getting a warrant from a militant judge is not difficult, and if the system is rotten all the way to the Supreme Court, there will be no recourse. Also, to get a law, you need to get it past the senate, which is also captured by right-wing nutjobs. > Especially since law enforcement can still get the location data from cell phone providers. Yes, that is another problem. And considering that the carriers are in bed with the right-wing nutjobs, good luck with solving it.
- throwaway69123 4y ago
  This is why you should protect peoples rights even when you disagree with their opinions because power structures always swing left and right
  - kergonath 4y ago
    Indeed! It is also why it’s almost always a bad idea to weaken constitutional protections of all sorts. The guardrails that limit you one day, inconvenient as they are, might save the country once a proto-fascists gets elected. It is also why we should be much more careful than we generally are about what data exactly all these companies keep. It also highlight the importance of a functional legislative branch in the American system. You need impeachment procedures to be possible when another branch goes rogue. Which is exactly why one obstructionist party is very unlikely to become constructive in the near future, unless something like a profound constitutional crisis or a civil war of some sort happens.

rvz 4y ago

Oh wait, now they should stop collecting phone location data? Now it is not fine? Why were they (Google) allowed to collect it in the first place and why wait until now to realise this? Looks like these lawmakers finally received a 'wake up call' that privacy is important.

Proven 4y ago

hoppyhoppy2 4y ago

See also https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31501871 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31501871 13 hours ago