Since the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, all people with telephones in the United States have been protected from telephone harassment and additional inappropriate behavior relating to personal data.
However, times have changed almost unrecognizably since 1991, and in addition to telephones in the house, we are mostly dependent on smart phones that we keep in our pockets. Whats more, in addition to only making calls on these devices, we also enter our personal information into countless apps that have the ability to invade our privacy in many different ways. Therefore, as consumers in 2018, it is important to know what our rights are to privacy in the digital world.
How can apps glean information from us?
Marc Rotenberg, president of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, says the ability of apps to take information from users without them really noticing is “a real problem.” In most cases, users give out their personal information, such as their telephone number and their email address to an app, and the information is handled in a professional way. However there is growing concern that more apps will start to sell the data that they obtain to third parties, making money from the information and breaching the users’ privacy as a result.
How do I know if my information has been sold?
It is difficult to know if your information has been sold as part of a database, but if you are being harassed by different companies on a regular basis, this is a good indication. It is important that you take action on this and assert your legal right to privacy.
Source: Gov Tech, “Cellphone Apps Can Invade Your Privacy,” accessed April 06, 2018
