Taiwan: Top tech giants must stop playing fast and loose with privacy

A Taiwanese watchdog claims 12 of the world's largest makers of cellphones have broken laws safeguarding privacy. The state's National Communications Commission, which has probed several tech giants, wouldn't name all of the accused – but officials at the regulator mentioned Apple, Xiaomi, Samsung, Sony and HTC, according to …

[Anonymous Coward]

These phones should all be free

If Apple and Samsung and their little buddies are going to sell us all out anyway, we shouldn't be paying them for the privilege of letting them spy on us and monetize our private lives.

[Ian Joyner]

Re: These phones should all be free

It is not Apple's business model to collect your information - it IS the business model of Google (thus Samsung, etc) and Facebook. Doesn't necessarily mean that Apple are perfect in this regard, but they should probably not be lumped with these others in reports like this.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-weinstein/apple-vs-google-the-priva_b_5898168.html

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2014/06/30/apple-vs-android-privacy/

And that's what ApplePay is about - making purchases that neither the retailer, nor Apple gets information about, not even your credit card number. That's why so many of these organizations will hate it and try to disparage it at every opportunity.

[Denarius]

Phone makers too ?

Colour me unsurprised. Aren't we all product or suspected crims now, instead of customers and citizens ?

[Ian Joyner]

Re: Phone makers too ?

See my reply above. Apple has also taken on US government in this respect. Apple devices encrypt your data with a password that only you know. That gives security on the device and on iCloud. The others want to be able to read your information so encryption is not nearly so secure.

http://www.cnet.com/au/news/apples-imessage-encryption-trips-up-feds-surveillance/

[Ian Joyner]

Apple's security is very strong:

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2174973/smartphones/apple-reveals-unprecedented-details-in-ios-security.html

and the referenced guide:

https://www.apple.com/br/privacy/docs/iOS_Security_Guide_Oct_2014.pdf

I had my third year and masters students analyze different aspects of this and they came up with loads of web references on the subject.

http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014/10/how-corporate-greed-is-trying-to-kill-apple-pay/