Further Reading
More Case Studies
These case studies are not directly related to government agencies or location data. They encompass a broader scope of data privacy and information brokers.
Apple and Mobile User Privacy
Time and time again, Apple refuses to cooperate with government agencies when it comes to unlocking suspected criminals' iPhones, regardless of the severity of the crime. A January 2020 incident occurred with regards to the iPhone of a shooting suspect in Pensacola, FL. Apple produced iCloud backups, and account information, but not the ability to access the phone. Famously, this refusal also happened in 2016, when Apple refused to cooperate with the FBI in unlocking the iPhone of a terrorist in San Bernardino, CA. The corporation claims to take their customers' personal safety above demands from government agencies, an allowance that directly results from the lack of federal guidance on mobile data privacy. What does this suggest would happen if mobile privacy regulations were thrust back on the federal government? What is so different about providing the suspect's information versus providing access to their unlocked phone?
Health Data and Data Brokers
In another case of a "Warrant Loophole" in which technology advances more quickly than the laws that regulate them, one Forbes article highlights how easy data brokers make it to purchase personal data that is otherwise heavily regulated. The broker MEDbase 200 is known to sell databases of medical information. In 2013, Pam Dixon, executive director of the World Privacy Forum, testified that MEDbase 200 sells lists of one thousand names each for the low price of $79. What is on these lists? The names of people suffering from erectile dysfunction, sexual assault, alcoholism, HIV/AIDS, or who are prescribed to take certain medications. What does it mean for individuals' safety that anyone could purchase these lists?
How Mobile Data Negatively Impacts the Government and US Military
Strava, a fitness app, revealed military bases and patrol routes
Fitness app Strava lights up staff at military bases. (2018). BBC. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-42853072#:~:text=Security%20concerns%20have%20been%20raised,as%20they%20run%20or%20cycle.
Hsu, J. (2018). The Strava Heat Map and the End of Secrets. Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/strava-heat-map-military-bases-fitness-trackers-privacy/
Using mobile data to track US troop movements and covert ops
Tau, B. (2021). The Ease of Tracking Mobile Phones of U.S. Soldiers in Hot Spots. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-ease-of-tracking-mobile-phones-of-u-s-soldiers-in-hot-spots-11619429402
More Sources and Suggested Readings
Betzing, J. H., et al. (2019). The Impact of Transparency on Mobile Privacy Decision Making. Electronic Markets, 30(3), pp. 607–625, doi:10.1007/s12525-019-00332-3. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12525-019-00332-3
De la Torre, L. F. (2019). Mobile Privacy in the US. Medium. https://medium.com/golden-data/mobile-privacy-in-the-us-c4a619e07e2b
Feiner, Lauren. (2020). Apple Refuses Government's Request to Unlock Pensacola Shooting Suspect's iPhones. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/14/apple-refuses-barr-request-to-unlock-pensacola-shooters-iphones.html
Hill, Kashmir. (2013). Data Broker Was Selling Lists of Rape Victims, Alcoholics, and 'Erectyle Dysfunction Sufferers'. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/12/19/data-broker-was-selling-lists-of-rape-alcoholism-and-erectile-dysfunction-sufferers/?sh=115fe6f91d53
History of privacy timeline. (n.d.). https://safecomputing.umich.edu/privacy/history-of-privacy-timeline.
Thompson, S. A. & Warzel, C. (2019). Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html