Corpse of US anti-spying law unearthed, reanimated, pushed blinking into the sunlight

US Congressional lawmakers on Wednesday reintroduced legislation to establish rules limiting how American government agencies can obtain a person's whereabouts. The Geolocation Privacy and Surveillance Act (GPS Act), sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), and Rep. John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich), was …

[Youngone]

A Prediction

This will go the way it has in the past:

Criminals caught using Stingray

Case built by Prosecutor using parallel construction

Defence applies for Stingray evidence during discovery

Case dropped.

This law will be as much use as a chocolate teapot.

[alain williams]

When has that ever stopped them ?

How many years before they are given retrospective permission ?

[Pascal Monett]

"prohibit [..] sharing customers' geolocation data without customer consent"

If this law actually makes it this time, I foresee another clause added to page 43 of the EULA nobody ever reads stipulating that by using the product, you give your consent.

Problem solved (for the companies).

Look, I'm happy you're at least trying to do something, I really am. But you do need to take a look beyond your limousines and bulletproof glass windows and look at how the world actually works. Demanding user consent is a step forward - but you cannot allow it to be embedded in the EULA. It must be an in-your-face question, clearly labelled YOUR SECURITY IS AT STAKE, with a button YES and a button NO. And clicking NO does NOT prevent using the product.

Then we might be able to accept that something is actually being done about this whole mess.

[Baldy50]

Re: "prohibit [..] sharing customers' geolocation data without customer consent"

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/eulalyzer.html

Analyze license agreements before clicking, saves having to read them all the way through, seems to work.

[Anonymous Coward]

I really don't see the problem here...

I grew up with Stingray and it did me no harm.

[wayne 8]

No need for new laws

Just respect the inherent rights recognized in the Bill of Rights.

But what do you expect from lawmakers.

[Anonymous Coward]

that obviously only applies to US persons, not ones that eat camembert

http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2017/02/16/news/wikileaks_cia_hollande_le_pen_sarkozy-158477960/

sorry it's in Italian, that's either just 'cos no UK newspaper dares touch this with the new secret squirrel law, or maybe it is just made-up by someone somewhere slavic!

[Nimby]

Location is as location does.

I'm not exactly sure what reasonable expectation to geolocation privacy I should have when I use a device which also connects to a global grid of satellites.

But then it also seems to me that if I were concerned, perhaps because I was engaging in activities where I did not wish my location data to be knowable by certain parties, then I would hopefully be smart enough to turn any such devices off (and pull the battery) and/or leave such a device someplace else whilst so engaged. Perhaps I might even indulge in the expense of a disposable replacement should there be a need for one during such activity.

Just random thoughts. I'm sure this all matters. Really.

[Anonymous Coward]

If this bill becomes law...

...then Win10 users in the U.S. will be freed from Microsoft tracking their whereabouts via encrypted data.