[Discuss] Phone maker settles charges it let partner collect customers' text messages

[Greg Rundlett (freephile)]

On Tue, May 1, 2018 at 9:57 AM, Bill Horne <bill at horne.net> wrote:

[snip]

Phone maker settles charges it let partner collect customers' text
> messages
>
> BLU phones sent a massive amount of data to firmware and data-mining
> provider.
>
> https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/04/phone-maker-
> settles-charges-it-let-partner-collect-customers-text-messages/
>
>
It's just appalling that companies can get caught red-handed violating the
law to such an extreme but nonetheless remain in business. ADUPS Technology
Co. LTD (the firmware provider and data-collector) should be out of
business or at least some executives in jail. There should be an
investigation into which BLU executives besides the President were
complicit in the data mining. And Amazon should be flagged with a scarlet
letter as an e-commerce site that should not be trusted for making public
statements that completely contradict their actions to protect consumers.

Lastly, viz. ""This is in line with every other smartphone device
manufacturer in the world" "There is nothing out of the ordinary that is
being collected" FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, State's Atty
Generals, and organizations like "Consumer Reports" should join the FSF and
EFF be issuing statements about the need for consumers to seek out
completely free software alternatives that respect privacy
because “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” – Louis Brandeis

Or how about *backing* the development of such alternatives with public
funds instead of backing massive corporations and bureaucracies with those
funds?

Greg Rundlett
https://eQuality-Tech.com <https://equality-tech.com/>
https://freephile.org