Verizon Wireless To Start Sharing Your Calling Information

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://skydeck.com/blog/mobilemarket/get-ready-for-more-advertising-on-your-cell-phone/">http://skydeck.com/blog/mobilemarket/get-ready-for-more-advertising-on-your-cell-phone/</a><br /><br /><i>"Two of us just received a notice from Verizon Wireless about CPNI. CPNI stands for Customer Proprietary Network Information: our call records, essentially. What numbers we called, how often, how long we spent on the phone, and how much it cost us. (It does not include our own names, numbers, or addresses.) Verizon wants to share this data with third parties, and of course they need our permission: "you have a right, and we have a duty, under federal and state law, to protect the confidentiality of your CPNI." But that duty only goes so far: "Unless you provide us [Verizon Wireless] with notice that you wish to opt out within 30 days of receiving this letter, we will assume that you give the Verizon Companies the right to share your CPNI with the authorized companies as described above."</i><br /><br />Wow. It is unbelievable to me that Verizon, or any carrier, would just change the terms of your contract like this unless you proactively opt-out of the new process. If you are on Verizon Wireless and you got this notice, be sure to understand exactly what they are going to be sharing with whomever they deem an "authorized company." If you, like many others, just tossed this notice out when you got your bill recently, the link above has an online scanned copy of it so you'll know how to opt out.<br /><br />Personally, I think any new policy that <i>anyone</i> comes up with that shares personal information of any sort should be required to be opt-in only. Opt-out should be banned.

[virain]

Next time you will get a call from a telemarketer don't be surprise. Anything to make an extra buck! And even if you would send the notice, it may get lost in a mail, I had this experience with AT&amp;T rebaite.

[ADBrown]

Reason number 8,183 why I'm soooo glad I'm not a Verizon customer.

[Ed Hansberry]

Reason number 8,183 why I'm soooo glad I'm not a Verizon customer.

but if a verizon customer calls you or you call them, and they haven't opted out....

[Jon Westfall]

We used to joke about how Verizon would, if they could, charge 1 cent for each button press on your handset. Now it seems that didn't quite work so they decided to just give your info to "authorized" companies. Ugh...

[ADBrown]

Reason number 8,183 why I'm soooo glad I'm not a Verizon customer.

but if a verizon customer calls you or you call them, and they haven't opted out....

Aaaand now I have to go block all Verizon numbers. Excuse me. :lol:

[Raithlin]

Personally, I think any new policy that anyone comes up with that shares personal information of any sort should be required to be opt-in only. Opt-out should be banned.

Funny, that. Here in South Africa we have a new privacy law (implemented 2006/7) that specifically bans opt-out. I'd have thought the Government was following someone else's lead?

[Underwater Mike]

AT&amp;T sucks so bad, I've been counting the weeks until my contract is up next spring. But this is another knock against Verizon (besides their lousy PPC selection). Is there ANY provider out there with fast data, good coverage and decent customer support?

[dstrauss]

AT&amp;T sucks so bad, I've been counting the weeks until my contract is up next spring. But this is another knock against Verizon (besides their lousy PPC selection). Is there ANY provider out there with fast data, good coverage and decent customer support?

No...no...and...NO! :(

[SteveHoward999]

Why isn't this illegal?

[Don't Panic!]

Illegal? THIS IS USA! kicks stevehoward999 down the well...

[SteveHoward999]

Illegal? THIS IS USA! kicks stevehoward999 down the well...

OK that makes sense. On every level :devilboy:

[wirelessbeachbum]

AT&amp;T sucks so bad, I've been counting the weeks until my contract is up next spring. But this is another knock against Verizon (besides their lousy PPC selection). Is there ANY provider out there with fast data, good coverage and decent customer support?

Depending on where you live Alltel may be a good choice, PPC6800 and EVDO in my area...

[Ed Hansberry]

AT&amp;T sucks so bad, I've been counting the weeks until my contract is up next spring. But this is another knock against Verizon (besides their lousy PPC selection). Is there ANY provider out there with fast data, good coverage and decent customer support?
I like T-Mobile - great customer service IMHO. I had a $50 rebate that was apparently lost. After a brief email exchange, they said the check had not been cashed and they would cut a new one. It arrived less than 2 weeks later this past Saturday. :-)

They aren't fast though - Edge is about it, other than the Wifi support they like, which IMHO doesn't really count.

[dequardo]

I got this 2 weeks ago and opted out immediately. If ATT had decent coverage where I'm at I'd switch.

[applejosh]

I opted out as well, but if I read correctly, it was just to share info with Vodafone, which is part owner of Verizon anyway. I think we're pretty much all screwed here in the US given the focus on the almighty (not lately) dollar. We try to make it easy for companies to thrive, and sometimes even at the cost of consmers' privacy.

[dequardo]

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'.

-Edmund Burke

[SteveHoward999]

I opted out as well, but if I read correctly, it was just to share info with Vodafone, which is part owner of Verizon anyway.

http://skydeck.com/blog/mobilemarket/get-ready-for-more-advertising-on-your-cell-phone/
Who are the authorized companies? “Our affiliates, agents and parent companies (including Vodafone) and their subsidiaries.”

"Affiliates and agents" is a pretty wide scope!

[Underwater Mike]

FYI, take a read HERE (http://publications.mediapost.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Articles.san&amp;s=69258). AFAIK, Verizon is one of the partners/contributors in the Nielsen Mobile effort, so the "bill scraping" mentioned in the article is likely part of what Verizon is doing with the data.

[mrkbrks]

You can also call 800 333 9956 to opt out. I just called customer service and they made it sound like they were doing me a favor. I am changing services as I type.

[maxnix]

'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing'.

-Edmund Burke
So let's each and every one of us send this notice along with a letter to our elcted representatives and monitor each's reaction.

Those who don't repond do not understand the constituion and should not recieve your vote the next election no matter how much you may otherwise agree with his or her politics.

Freedom is lost one in chip at a time.