Law Enforcement Submits 8 MILLION Requests for GPS Location Data From Sprint

[thinkliberty]

http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/12/surveillance-shocker-sprint-received-8-million-law

...Eight million would have been a shocking number even if it had included every single legal request to every single carrier for every single type of customer information; that Sprint alone received eight million requests just from law enforcement only for GPS data is absolutely mind-boggling. We have long warned that cell phone tracking poses a threat to locational privacy, and EFF has been fighting in the courts for years to ensure that the government only tracks a cell phone's location when it has a search warrant based on probable case. EFF has also complained before that a dangerous level of secrecy surrounds law enforcement's communications surveillance practices like a dense fog, and that without stronger laws requiring detailed reporting about how the government is using its surveillance powers, the lack of accountability when it comes to the government's access to information through third-party phone and Internet service providers will necessarily breed abuse. But we never expected such huge numbers to be lurking in that fog.
Now that the fact is out that law enforcement is rooting through such vast amounts of location data, it raises profoundly important questions that law enforcement and the telcos must answer:
How many innocent Americans have had their cell phone data handed over to law enforcement?
How can the government justify obtaining so much information on so many people, and how can the telcos justify handing it over?
How did the number get so large? Is the government doing massive dragnet sweeps to identify every single cell phone that was in a particular area at a particular time? Is the government getting location information for entire "communities of interest" by asking not only for their target's location, but also for the location of every person who talked to the target, and every person who talked to them?
Does the number only include requests to track phones in real-time, or does it include requests for historical GPS data, and if so, why did the telcos have that incredibly sensitive data sitting around in the first place? Exactly when and how are they logging their users' GPS data, and how long are they keeping that data?
What legal process was used to obtain this information? Search warrants? Other court orders? Mere subpoenas issued by prosecutors without any court involvement? How many times was this information handed over without any legal process at all, based on government claims of an urgent emergency situation?
Looking beyond Sprint and GPS, how many Americans have had their private communications data handed over to law enforcement by their phone and Internet service providers?
What exactly has the government done with all of that information? Is it all sitting in an FBI database somewhere?
Do you really think that this Orwellian level of surveillance is consistent with a free society and American values? Really? ...

[FreelanceFreedomFighter]

I've had Sprint (Nextel) for ages... pushing two decades. I've threatened to switch on numerous occasions. I get fliers and calls from them all the time offering to "upgrade" my phones (yep, I have a number of phones, all on one "happy" plan) for little to nothing... they always want to 1) lock me in for more time (I've been past any "have to pay a penalty if you cancel" period since long ago); 2) they want to change my rate plan (I have a really good one that they've tried to change on me without my consent before, but they've been stopped from doing so); and 3) they don't have any of these "new" phones WITHOUT GPS. My phones (all of them) are pre-GPS. If they want to find us, they have to triangulate... and we don't use them to discuss ANYTHING controversial, just quick comms. Everytime I've checked on changing carriers, I always ask them if they can get me a phone WITHOUT GPS. I've had a couple of sales reps try to BS me with "we'll turn it off if you don't want it." NO... That's not what I asked for... I want one WITHOUT it. Because if you can turn it off, you can turn it ON! They check and always come back with, sorry, we don't have that. As long as the new phones are sending GPS data (even when the phone is not in use... even turned off, as long as the battery is still inserted), I won't be getting a "new" phone!

[AntonLee]

I dumped nextel/sprint when they kept begging me to upgrade my software.  They even sent me a cool usb wire that they used to charge for and a coupon for money off my bill.  I remember reading the booklet with the fine print and you're basically giving your permission for them to turn on or off any function of the phone at any time.  I used the wire to upload free ringtones and I discarded it without upgrading the phone.

I got beef with Sprint Nextel.  I hated their service, the prices, the direct connect constantly letting people know if I had my phone on, and the coverage blew.  I usually ignore people in the mall trying to get me to switch companies for my cell but those Sprint Nextel guys I love to ask how crappy the service still is.

[Russell Kanning]

man ... they can track me all the way back to my house .... except, not so much

[Ogre]

Wow.  Just wow.

[PattyLee loves dogs]

Yes, I guess there is another reason to be vigilant. Shame, hard to keep a balance in life with this knowledge. How to keep up? Any development of counter strategies will be helpful (but secret as possible to us)
? See you all at Liberty forum, lets discuss offline further.