Facebook is exactly breaking the law at least in many states.
Its so clearly illegal and wrong. I really don't understand why someone doesn't stop them.
Can I form a corporation, employ myself, then act with impunity too?
Wiretaps can (depending on state) takes hundreds of pages of paperwork, and months of documentation and review, before they get approved. But if you work for a company, and they tell you that they are monitoring phone calls made from company phones, you just have to deal with it.
Can I go and buy a gps tracker and install it on your car? If not, why is Facebook or Google or whoever allowed to install one on my phone?
It had nothing to do with the 4th amendment. I can buy a GPS tracker on amazon right now. You don't have to be a cop to install a tracker.
Completely aside I'm finding how much data my Android phone shares extremely intrusive.
Pretty much, although you won't be very popular
Technically probably not at the moment, but this would affect the notion of intent and increase penalties if you used this information to commit another crime, like murder, burglarly, etc.
Is it illegal for me to stand in the public street outside of your house and note when you arrive and leave and other observable-from-public factors?
Honestly you bring up a good point. We definitely need an update to our laws to specifically address privacy. The Constitution was written when people lived tens or even hundreds of miles from each other.
And wasn't it just recently in the news that all major USA cell phone providers are selling your location tracking data to third parties?