And They Get Paid to Spy on You

No, not the police, although more of them at lower levels are in fact tracking cell phone use (allegedly of suspects, and we know where that leads).

Ever since cell phone companies were granted immunity from lawsuits by the Bush Administration and the spineless Democrats who enabled them, this has been inevitable. It’s bad enough that the government and law enforcement can eavesdrop, read your e-mails and even track you with your cell phone without a warrant. Now corporations like AT&T are making money off of it.

And where are those lovers of the constitution, the Tea Party and self-described “Constitutional conservatives”? What, no rallies in front of AT&T or Verizon HQ? Nope, it’s always * crickets * with that crowd — until they get their marching orders from Fox News, of course. And heh heh, we all know where Rupert Murdoch stands on things like phone hacking! So don’t hold your breath.

In the last two V. I. Warshawsky novels, Vic turns off her cell phone when she realizes it's being used to trace her movements.

Really, why are we allowing Big Brother-type surveillance to grow?  Nineteen Eighty-Four was a cautionary tale, not a blueprint!  (OK, nor as glamourous as David Bowie makes everything sound.)

Southern Beale's post includes a link to the New York Times article which, since we non-subscribers are now cut back to 10 articles per month, I prefer to avoid using unless I must.