CHAPTER 12 CASE STUDY : iPhone Become iTrack

1.) Why do cell phone manufacturers (Apple, Google, and BlackBerry) want to track where their customers go?  

 

The cell phone manufacturers (Apple, Google, and BlackBerry) want to track where their customers go because they collect this data for advertising and marketing purposes. And the mobile technologies based on the Smartphone make it possible to locate people through out of the day, to report this information to cooperate data sell it to advertisers and others. For example a mobile phone (also known as a cellular phone, cell phone, and a hand phone) is a device that can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link while moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile phone operator, allowing access to the public telephone network. By contrast, a cordless telephone is used only within the short range of a single, private base station. A number of firms have adopted business models based on the ability of smart phones to report on the whereabouts. Most of the popular apps report the locations.

2.) Do you think cell phone customers should be able to turn tracking off ? Should customers be informed when they are being tracked? Why or why not?  

Yes I think that there should be a feature to turn such features off because the. Customers should be informed even though most apps do display that GPS and network access is a requirement for the application. Because the cell phone by using the phone companies technology to triangulate positions relative to cell phone towers. For example the average cell phone customer now switches carriers as soon as his or her second two-year contract is up This location capability has been increased significantly in recent years as more phones come equipped with GPS chips to more precisely position the user. Access to location has been very limited beyond emergency responders, due to legal and privacy concerns.

3.) Do you think cell phone tracking is a violation of a person’s privacy?

Many privacy groups are calling for legislation to gain user consent as a condition of cell phone tracking. Go to the Internet to find out one of the privacy groups and summarize its stand and viewpoint. Government officials can learn the detailed of personal information about you by accessing your location history from your cell phone company .We must support this group in its call for federal regulation cell phone tracking. Because the Cell phone manufacturers (Apple, Google and Blackberry) tracking is indeed an invasion of privacy. For example Verizon has said that it doesn't give these marketers the information of individual customers, but does so in aggregate. For example, if a company wants to know about the behavior of 35 year old white males, they can get the cell phone behaviors of that audience, but not of a specific man in that group.  A privacy group is Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC).The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) was founded in 1993 and focuses public attention to emerging civil liberties and to protect privacy, the first amendment, and constitutional values. EPIC does not lobby for, consult, or advice companies, nor do we endorse specific products or services. There is an increasing risk of privacy violations in which personal, sensitive information may be exposed. More data is finding its way on to computers and the internet than ever before, and companies are finding that there is a market for financial and other personal records that we expect to remain safe from intrusion. This list merely serves as a sampling of available privacy-enhancing tools. I do support its calls for federal regulation because it does need to be regulated, as this type of tracking is a breach of privacy. Google and Apples position of cell phone tracking is to help improve apps and service. Limitations of cell phone tracking can be specified in the settings from accurate to city locations.