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UK: British mobile phone users’ movements 'could be sold for profit’

04 April 2016

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"British mobile phone users are one data breach away from having the routines of their daily lives revealed to criminals, privacy campaigners have said.

Mobile phone networks and wireless hotspot operators are collecting detailed information on customers’ movements that reveal intimate details of their lives, two separate investigations into mobile data retention have found.

Many people unwittingly sign up to be location-tracked 24/7, unaware that the highly sensitive data this generates is being used and sold on for profit. Campaigners say that if this information were stolen by hackers, criminals could use it to target children as they leave school or homes after occupants have gone out."

See the article: British mobile phone users’ movements 'could be sold for profit’ (The Guardian, link)

See: Cashing in on your mobile (Open Rights Group, link) and: Opt Me Out Of Location (link): "www.optmeoutoflocation.com has been set up to encourage the British public to call for their mobile and Wi-Fi service providers to make it explicit what they are asking their customers to opt into, thereby providing a clear choice to opt out."

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