Texas State Police Gear Up for Expansion of Surveillance Tech

In theory it could be different, in practice it simply isn't. If we want any kind of privacy law, "internal use" or "legitimate interest" or whatever nonsense the data brokers deploy to pretend there's some way to do this that isn't unethical is a smokescreen and a loophole in every context, and we should ban the harvesting of that data regardless of its intended use

They just install one of these scummy apps and click OK to it vacuuming up all their contacts, which includes everything they know about you.

Plus, IMEI numbers can be used by carriers, and that is a very solid identifier per phone. When you operate at that level, tracking is very easy. ATT has been selling this data for years

- malware on phones (even though apps are supposed to only get anonymous information, there are ways to workaround it. For one a app can just ask your name and many people will put it in.)

- cell phone companies selling the data (see for evidence they do this https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-gave-a-bounty-hunter-300-d...)

Bear in mind these companies advertising a capability doesn't mean it works on every target.

Clearly iOS was providing the app with some API to query my current phone number, and was disclosing it without my explicit consent.

Collect data for a few days to learn schedules, throw in some more specific data purchased from ISPs, other fingerprints, plot it on top of an actual map with roads and buildings, and you’ve got a very good guess of where specific people are, where they live and work, and how they move around.

Correlate that with other people’s data and eventually you’ll be able to guess who they live and hang with.

Furthermore demographic changes suggest that the majority will be in some decades in accord with the rest of us if we don't blink now.

More importantly it would create a legal precedent that if allowed would fracture the US utterly diminishing our global power and likely leading to long term conflict which we may lose.

Anyone want to see civil war v2 with the new Confederacy aligned with China and Russia?

Conflict with China and Russia seems increasingly likely already in the long run and as China's star rises they have less reason for restaint.

Traditionally the rising star wars with the existing powers when supremacy is in doubt and that would very much be the case if we split in 2 or 3 and allegiance to eachother were in doubt.

There is every reason to believe that the US will defeat the fascist threat presented by Trump and come through it whole. If we allow seccession we will instead likely see the US split into the US and Trumpistan with TX only the first domino to fall. Doubtless other red states would follow probably into a loose confederation of states itself in danger of splintering further.

The best case would be ending up the EU with major economic ties preventing conflict between China and Russias aspirations crushed in Ukraine.

This is however a massive dice roll with no guarantee that it goes so well especially for women, liberals, and minorities in the red states.

remember our much-maligned "disconnected" grid when you think you are turning the lights out on us

It'd be expedient. An entire generation of people have had such bad experiences in politics they've apparently just entirely given up on them and then have mistaken their position for one of rationale.

It'd be healthy if we fixed whatever caused this type of banter to be accepted.