Verizon Says Selling Customer Info is Legal

[exfileme]

Even though Verizon offers its customers a choice to opt out, the Big Red is still under fire for selling user data.

Verizon Says Selling Customer Info is Legal : Read more

 

[joytech22]

Ugh selling user info is the scummiest of all scummy activities.
You shouldn't have to opt out, you should already be opted out and by your own decision you should be able to decide when to opt in if ever.

 

[Guest]

Since User Information is something owned by the user and then sold every user should get at least 50% of the money made. I mean even microsoft now stops people earning money with videos of their games on youtube.

 

[bigdragon]

Translation: Anything that makes Verizon more money is or shall be (through lobbying) legal.

I guess those $100+ a month smartphone bills and paltry bandwidth limits just weren't enough for them. I think Verizon should have to pay customers whose behavioral data they package and sell. Really doesn't seem fair that customers are generating all this data marketers love to snap up but aren't getting compensated for originating that data.

 

[halcyon]

...and I'm glad I did leave Verizon now that I read this. However, I'd not be surprised if the other big carriers are doing the same thing. Let's be honest, we know Uncle Sam is capturing everything we do. Its the world we live and its sad. Is this the price of "freedom"?

 

[-Fran-]

Well, it is legal... Facebook does it indirectly, Twitter does as well AFAIK.

And most of the big monsters. I'm sure Apple does as well indirectly.

Stop living under the rock, the biggest profit for most companies is the info we give them, FOR FREE.

The thing is not they selling it, is US GIVING IT FOR FREE.

Cheers!

 

[dark_knight33]

Would have made the article better if you had indicated how a VZW customer can opt-out.

https://login.verizonwireless.com/amserver/UI/Login?realm=vzw&goto=https%3A%2F%2Fmyaccount.verizonwireless.com%3A443%2Fclp%2Flogin%3Fredirect%3D%2Fvzw%2Fsecure%2FsetPrivacy.action

 

[phych]

If they are able to sell information about their users, then customers should be able to cancel their contract without fees.

 

[jhansonxi]

There's a graphic I've seen on the Internet of Mark Zuckerberg versus Julian Assange. One sells your info for money and is Time's Man of the Year. The other gives you corporate info for free and is considered a criminal by many.

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]halcyon[/nom]...and I'm glad I did leave Verizon now that I read this. However, I'd not be surprised if the other big carriers are doing the same thing. Let's be honest, we know Uncle Sam is capturing everything we do. Its the world we live and its sad. Is this the price of "freedom"?[/citation]

This, they are certainly ALL are doing this. If Verizon was one of the last carriers to charge a "upgrade fee" I almost certain the others are doing this without a opt out option.

 

[livebriand]

This is why I am leaving Verizon...

 

[kinggraves]

Wiretapping laws are outdated and in need of serious rewriting to begin with. A lot of tech related laws need to be reworked to fit modern technology, including piracy laws made for large scale counterfeiters.

Oh, I can't afford the bribes necessary to get Congress to write a law that benefits me. Too bad.

 

[Kami3k]

[citation][nom]livebriand[/nom]This is why I am leaving Verizon...[/citation]

Good luck finding a carrier that isn't doing this.

 

[Guest]

ha, glad all I use my 2005 cellphone for is well.. Phonecalls. and it does that perfect.

 

[10tacle]

[citation][nom]jhansonxi[/nom]There's a graphic I've seen on the Internet of Mark Zuckerberg versus Julian Assange. One sells your info for money and is Time's Man of the Year. The other gives you corporate info for free and is considered a criminal by many.[/citation]

If you think one guy starting up a business as an entrepreneur where people have the freedom to choose to freely join it (did I mention it's for free?) compared to another guy who is a trained hacker and gathered highly security-sensitive government data illegally and released it are comparably honorable men, you are free to believe so. A lot of others don't see it that way.

 

[twisted politiks]

I guess I have a different opinion than most. None of this information they are collecting and selling is worth any value to me, nor would I care if anybody knows it. They aren't selling any info that could cause financial problems, like bank accounts, passwords, or social security numbers. And as far as I have seen, advertising isn't going anywhere. I would much rather have personalized advertising that might actually interest me, instead of random male enhancement advertising filling up my inbox.

 

[hiryu]

[citation][nom]Yuka[/nom]Well, it is legal... Facebook does it indirectly, Twitter does as well AFAIK.And most of the big monsters. I'm sure Apple does as well indirectly.Stop living under the rock, the biggest profit for most companies is the info we give them, FOR FREE.The thing is not they selling it, is US GIVING IT FOR FREE.Cheers![/citation]
But in the case of Verizon, you "PAID" Verizon to sell your info.

 

[sykozis]

[citation][nom]dark_knight33[/nom]Would have made the article better if you had indicated how a VZW customer can opt-out. https://login.verizonwireless.com/amserver/UI/Login?realm=vzw&goto=https%3A%2F%2Fmyaccount.verizonwireless.com%3A443%2Fclp%2Flogin%3Fredirect%3D%2Fvzw%2Fsecure%2FsetPrivacy.action[/citation]
Thanks for the link.

 

[pliskin1]

Don't forget it is also their constitutional right to throttle data. Oh the reasons to hate Verizon. Oh, and about them not giving out personal details. I'm pretty sure giving out your favorite pets name will provide access to many security questions.

 

[Solandri]

[citation][nom]Yuka[/nom]Well, it is legal... Facebook does it indirectly, Twitter does as well AFAIK.And most of the big monsters. I'm sure Apple does as well indirectly.Stop living under the rock, the biggest profit for most companies is the info we give them, FOR FREE.The thing is not they selling it, is US GIVING IT FOR FREE.Cheers![/citation]
Facebook, Twitter, and Google I can understand - they offer their services for free[/i] in exchange for you giving them your info. You knowingly enter that arrangement when you take advantage of their free services.

You aren't giving your info to Verizon. They just happen to sit on the pipes which connect you to the Internet and phone networks. This is more like the post office requiring you to pay for stamps, tracking where your letters are being sent from, reading your letters, and selling the info.

There is no opt-out option like there is with credit cards and bank accounts. This country badly needs a network privacy law like for credit cards and bank accounts. Just because a communications carrier (be it post office, landline phone company, cellular provider, or internet provider) can read the contents of your transmissions doesn't mean they should.

 

[nebun]

Google does the same thing, how come no one is bashing them?

 

[thecolorblue]

[citation][nom]twisted politiks[/nom]I guess I have a different opinion than most. None of this information they are collecting and selling is worth any value to me, nor would I care if anybody knows it. They aren't selling any info that could cause financial problems, like bank accounts, passwords, or social security numbers. And as far as I have seen, advertising isn't going anywhere. I would much rather have personalized advertising that might actually interest me, instead of random male enhancement advertising filling up my inbox.[/citation]
ask yourself how a future hitler would use this info to improve his culling selections
ask yourself how a corporation would use this info against people protesting its activities...
the list oes on...

 

[rosen380]

Well, you could look at it that Verizon has some projected profit margin and they set their rates accordingly. Lets say 20%.

So, if they give you a $600 phone that costs them $400 for $99 with a two year contract at $79 per month, where their total costs involved to give you a months service is $50, then

You pay $79x24+$99 = $1995
Their cost $50x24 +$400 = 1600

Just about 20% profit on the nose. Now, lets say in two years [when your contract is up] their costs go up 6%:

You pay $79x24+$99 = $1995
Their cost $53x24 +$424 = 1696

Profit is now 15% and the investors are mad and they won't have that, so:
You pay $84x24+$99 = $2120
Their cost $53x24 +$424 = 1696

If your data, in aggregate [ie, not your personal data, but the combination of millions of users] is worth $125 per year. Instead of of them raising your rates to match the increase in costs, they could just sell this aggregate data and keep your rates the same.

I suppose in that case, it'd be something like them deciding for you that you'd rather have lower rates and don't care about your data as a data point among millions versus you having higher rates and that data not being shared. Would I rather have the choice? Sure. But I don't think it is a big deal.

Granted, I'm sure that somewhere on the contract I signed, it said they have the right to do what they please with this data, so it probably isn't my call anyway...

 

[Guest]

If this was legal, we wouldn't have to ask patients for consent to do research studies. Someone should probably step in and fix this problem. The patients or customers should have to sign up for something like this. It is common practice in every study that I work on. At least science has ethics...

 

[Guest]

how do you opt out?