Google Sued For Tracking via Android Phones

[Guest]

First; the idea that lawsuits such as these are frivolous, and only benefits the lawyers, is unfounded. Even if the suit makes over-reaching claims, the push back forcing companies such as google and apple to re-think their approach to privacy is a good thing.

Second; This attack on lawyers, and assumption that we live in an increasingly litigious society, is ridiculous. Just as we (in the U.S.) currently pay lass in taxes than we ever have in modern society, litigation is also at its lowest level. Please, understand the facts before you spout off.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Anyone in the U.K. want to join my lawsuit against Tom-Tom?
I didn't realise they were tracking my location when i use my Sat-Nav,
< feels violated to the degree that only £50 million can ease the pain.

Moto

 

[invlem]

In the end everyone has the option of getting a cheap cell phone without GPS and all the fancy features.

As long as my location data remains anon, I really could care less so long as I have the option to turn off tracking (which I do).

People like things such as google maps, street view, augmented reality. But things like this don't appear without market research and data collection.

 

[dread_cthulhu]

LOL, Everyone beat me to the South Park references!

 

[fayzaan]

[citation][nom]Motopsychojdn[/nom]Anyone in the U.K. want to join my lawsuit against Tom-Tom?I didn't realise they were tracking my location when i use my Sat-Nav,< feels violated to the degree that only £50 million can ease the pain.Moto[/citation]

I WANTS THA MILLIONS!!!

 

[Camikazi]

I am speechless... but I guess you can't fix stupid :/

 

[skyline100]

Nice job, make Google pay!

 

[cadder]

next time read TOS/EULA before clicking

Take this before a jury and you will win every time- a jury will back the ordinary person that says they should not have to read this long document for a product that they purchased, and they could not understand it even if they read it.

You want to download an app for your phone, you have to read and agree to a 50 page legal document before you can even download an app. I think very few people in the world do that, they just click the box and go on.

 

[virtualban]

[citation][nom]cadder[/nom]Take this before a jury and you will win every time- a jury will back the ordinary person that says they should not have to read this long document for a product that they purchased, and they could not understand it even if they read it.You want to download an app for your phone, you have to read and agree to a 50 page legal document before you can even download an app. I think very few people in the world do that, they just click the box and go on.[/citation]
While the south park is extreme in the rights granted to the eula, the first lines generally says something that the company is not responsible and you can't sue them for use on either side. Then later comes the mumbo-jumbo that I agree companies need a nice spanking for making it like that and trying to catch all loopholes against them in the way, while creating other loopholes that they can use against you.
I agree with you, but I still think this has no base to stand on, not much at least and I wish them to loose. Especially if these people are smart enough so the reason they are suing is costing them 50 million! If someone can find a loophole to sue google on this, then they are smart enough to read the eula! Laws, lawyers and judges are supposed to be defending the people, not to attack everything that can be attacked for the sake of keeping everybody in their field with a job.

 

[ericburnby]

So when some idiot sues Apple everyone is cheering that Apple deserves it.

When another idiot sues Google for the same thing, then suddenly it's the users fault and Google did nothing wrong.

 

[rosen380]

Just to throw it out there-- if a $50M lawsuit is almost certainly going to get thrown out, wouldn't it make more sense to sue for like $200k, which Google might either pay just to not have it in the news?

 

[virtualban]

[citation][nom]ericburnby[/nom]So when some idiot sues Apple everyone is cheering that Apple deserves it.When another idiot sues Google for the same thing, then suddenly it's the users fault and Google did nothing wrong.[/citation]
In both cases is user's fault. In the first case for having Apple product. In the second case for having Android product. Hahahaha!!!

 

[JohnnyLucky]

Last week I had to read a lot of fine print and explain it to one of my relatives. I did it because my relative did not bother to read the fine print before agreeing to the legal terms and conditions. I find it happens quite often.

I am not a legal expert but it seems to me if customers have the option of disabling an unwanted feature, then that should be the end of it, especially if it is documented in a user manual. I'm guessing the vast majority of users did not know about the tracking feature. The question remains is why users did not know about it.

 

[nebun]

it's about time...i love having a smart phone, but i can't stand it when a company has to know everything about it's customers....i think that the service providers should be sued also

 

[Kileak]

You people take your goddamn telephones too seriously.

Ever make phone calls with your "Smart" phones, or do you have them just to have them? We still use a 5 year old Samsung cell phone and guess what, it rings when people call, and has buttons with numbers for me to dial numbers and call with, oh and I can send and receive text messages too, neat uh?

But I guess you retards need apps for that though.

 

[Guest]

I don't understand why it's worthwhile belittling every Smartphone article with "omgosh, you people should just a standard phone, it works!!"

No sh*t, but so do these.

It's about progress and combining multiple technologies into one, we're at a stage that's happening now with a rapid pace, side effects to be expected but just because we can use these phones in more ways then one doesn't make the buyers silly.

 

[virtualban]

[citation][nom]Kileak[/nom]You people take your goddamn telephones too seriously.Ever make phone calls with your "Smart" phones, or do you have them just to have them? We still use a 5 year old Samsung cell phone and guess what, it rings when people call, and has buttons with numbers for me to dial numbers and call with, oh and I can send and receive text messages too, neat uh?But I guess you retards need apps for that though.[/citation]
I need a device that allows me to receive (preferably not send) text, send and receive voice calls, take photos if needed, play videos or small games when on the bus alone and bored, play music when walking around not wanting to hear the traffic and read a bit in bed prior to sleep. It is far easier for me to have these devices in one. If that device also has flexibility to support different stuff and applications, it's fine with me too.
Serious gaming and work are never done on a phone or tablet or anything of that sort. There are a couple of big computers for that. But even a laptop I would not take to bed, and a book would need light on. Let's not call my device a phone. Let's call it a palm portable computer that also happens to have GSM abilities. Happier now?

 

[Griffolion]

I'm pretty sure when you set up an android phone google explicitly asks you if you wish to use it's location and tracking services, which can be switched off at any time in the location and security settings menu. I let them, i love that little graph on latitude that tells you how many miles you've driven and how many more it will take to get the moon lol.

 

[pirateboy]

google and apple are both evil...whatever...the point is that the crap that comes out of google's humancentidroid will smell better than the crap spewing from apple's humancentipad

 

[Kileak]

[citation][nom]virtualban[/nom]Let's call it a palm portable computer that also happens to have GSM abilities. Happier now?[/citation]

Not saying a device suiting all your needs in one is a bad thing, if you use it to that extent.

Just saying, is it necessary? Could you live by getting on the bus only with an actual newspaper, playing the Sudoku or crosswords in it instead of your downloaded version? Could you still walk even if you had to hear the traffic? Could you just stay up later in front of the computer or in the living room to read instead of bringing your phone to bed?

I didn't want to make it sound like I was bashing Smartphones, although I did. What I wanted to come by and say was just that, Apple, and many others trying to be like them, have created "necessities" by implementing such awesome and useful all-in-one gizmos, but do you think you could live without them now? Some people can't!

Enough that they need to be texting while driving! If you're reading and writing here, you're most likely a conscious enough person to not do this though. Or there's also the fact that you ride the bus, but think what if the bus driver was busy texting instead of driving, who would tell him not to? Not Apple or Google and you cannot blame them for providing the tools for him to do so. I'm just saying that most people who use those tools, don't even need them, but they think they do.