[IP] VERIZON offers this too: Warning: AT&T's New "Spouse Stalking" Cell Service

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Peter Jensen" <peter@peterjensen.com>
Date: April 15, 2009 2:44:24 PM EDT
To: "David Farber" <dave@farber.net>
Subject: Re: [IP] VERIZON offers this too:  Warning: AT&T's New  
"Spouse Stalking" Cell Service

I was purchasing a new phone at a Verizon store two days ago, and
overheard the salesman offering this tracking (i.e. stalking) service to
a customer.  A "Parent" and "Child" phone are set up and initialized  
that way.

> Called "FamilyMap" ( http://www.att.com/familymap ), the service
> allows the account owner to track the location of other cell phones in
> the account over the Internet or on their own cell phones.  While this
> concept isn't particularly new, the manner of implementation that AT&T
> has chosen for this service is quite alarming.
>
> Rather than following the conventional procedure of requiring
> confirmation from a cell phone that its user wishes to permit
> tracking, FamilyMap allows for the activation of tracking based solely
> at the discretion of the account owner.

From what I overheard, the Verizon phones do not require any further
permission to be used in this manner.  That is specifically what the
salesman was offering the customer.

Peter Jensen








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