I question the sanity of those at the helm of Verizon, after David Weinberger, co-author of the Clue-Train Manifesto reported a letter he received from Verizon to the
New York Times. Verizon is selling information including "services purchased (including specific calls you make and receive), billing info, technical info and location info."
Call me crazy but I don't think that is good for business, their business customers or their business future. If you use their services you could be committing business suicide. Imagine all that nice information in the hands of competitors? Don't think they
won't get it if they can.
The potential to cause problems for all their customers is tremendous but what is worse is how they snuck it in and require customers to be aware and actually opt out.
By default your data is everyone's.
They must be desperate for income to stoop so low.
Another example of why Telcos cannot seriously be considered for any part of a transaction or authentication scheme. Does this confirm they have no ethics? I can't even detect a faint shadow.
I did see a reference suggesting data would only be provided to 'affiliates' and that they 'meant' companies owned by the parent. My legal hat popped on and asked me - if that is really what they mean why don't they use the word 'subsidiary'? Perhaps their
lawyers have only learnt up to 'A' in the legal dictiionary. If they're anything like google, pretty well everyone is an affiliate.