The call and text message records of hundreds of millions of AT&T cellphone customers in mid-to-late 2022 were exposed in a massive data breach, the telecom company revealed Friday.
There needs to be extremely stiff penalties on companies that lose customer data. It should be a large enough penalty that companies are afraid to keep customer data.
I agree, but also this is six months worth of data. I think most people would expect their records to be kept for at least a few months. If my kid suddenly disappeared, for example, I'd expect to be able to go to the phone company and get information on who she's been talking to. I'd expect to be able to get records to prove harassment or bullying, too.
It would be nice to give people control over the retention of their own data. That would satisfy everyone's needs, I would think.
Fairly certain after the Snowden leaks it’s pretty much guaranteed that every text message and every phone call you’ve ever made your whole life is documented
I'd expect to be able to go to the phone company and get information on who she's been talking to. I'd expect to be able to get records to prove harassment or bullying, too.
I know that's the reality, but I would not expect that at all. Do you also expect you can call your ISP and get a list of all the sites your kid went to?
I'm computer savvy enough to know the ISP wouldn't have most of those records anyway. That said, I do my best to make sure if something happened to my 14 year old I could access the sites and conversations she has been to because she has some emotional issues that I don't think are appropriate to explore on this particular thread. On the rare occasion I do check on her, I keep it to myself unless I were to see anything that made me fear for her safety.
I know that sounds draconian to some, but I guess you'd have to be in my situation to understand. I'm not talking about browsing porn, though we did try hard to stop that when she started at 8 or 9. I'm talking about sexting with folks on other continents who claim to be her age and sending nudes to her boyfriends.
I don't do the same with my 12 year old because she has a lot more emotional maturity and I have no fear that she is going to get herself in trouble in that way, and if she did I have confidence that she would let us help her.