2008 Woodie Awards
Federal agents place secret tracking devices on phones without warrants
Joanna Bernstein
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: World
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"There's definitely abuse happening here (within the government)," Duncan said. "But at the root of the problem, people put themselves at risk of being tracked when they buy a cell-phone."
Junior sociology major Chelsea Hornick-Becker doesn't have an inherent problem with the technology. But she is suspicious of governmental abuses.
"The Patriot Act allows these kinds of things to happen," Hornick-Becker said. "The government can request that others track anyone or anything without probable cause."
Sophomore computer information systems major Sharp Hall pointed out that governmental and cell-phone monitoring schemes do not stop at placing secret tracking devices in phones.
"Cell-phone companies can place bugs in the microphones of cell phones and record your conversations and immediately send them back to the FBI," Hall said.
The government's secret activity is fueling wireless carriers to offer technology that enables cell-phone users to monitor the locations of their families and friends.
For instance, Verizon Wireless's chaperone system enables parents to set up a "geo-fence" around a small perimeter to monitor the location of their children. If the child is in the fenced in area, the parent receives an automatic text message.
"I'm impressed by the technology, but the everyday advances which are made have a large effect on personal privacy," said sophomore computer programming major Alex Caliva. "While (the technology) can be helpful, there's no going back once we reach these new levels of innovation."
Privacy advocates and law-abiding citizens alike fear the potential consequences and downfalls of this technological progression.
Duncan said, "Call me a troglodyte, but just because we can do something with technology doesn't mean that we need to do it."
Junior sociology major Chelsea Hornick-Becker doesn't have an inherent problem with the technology. But she is suspicious of governmental abuses.
"The Patriot Act allows these kinds of things to happen," Hornick-Becker said. "The government can request that others track anyone or anything without probable cause."
Sophomore computer information systems major Sharp Hall pointed out that governmental and cell-phone monitoring schemes do not stop at placing secret tracking devices in phones.
"Cell-phone companies can place bugs in the microphones of cell phones and record your conversations and immediately send them back to the FBI," Hall said.
The government's secret activity is fueling wireless carriers to offer technology that enables cell-phone users to monitor the locations of their families and friends.
For instance, Verizon Wireless's chaperone system enables parents to set up a "geo-fence" around a small perimeter to monitor the location of their children. If the child is in the fenced in area, the parent receives an automatic text message.
"I'm impressed by the technology, but the everyday advances which are made have a large effect on personal privacy," said sophomore computer programming major Alex Caliva. "While (the technology) can be helpful, there's no going back once we reach these new levels of innovation."
Privacy advocates and law-abiding citizens alike fear the potential consequences and downfalls of this technological progression.
Duncan said, "Call me a troglodyte, but just because we can do something with technology doesn't mean that we need to do it."
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