Saturday, December 21, 2019

NYT: We Spied On Trump And Other Powerful People With Phone Tracking Data

In an extensive report that is part of its "Privacy Project," The New York Times revealed Thursday that it has gained access to cell phone tracking data for millions of Americans and was able to rather easily track the movements of regular Americans as well as high-profile and powerful figures, including President Trump himself - details of whose actions the Times published in a follow-up report.

In its initial report, titled "Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy," the Times warns that if you were able to see the data which they obtained from a single private cell phone app company, "You might never use your phone the same way again."

"The data was provided to Times Opinion by sources who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to share it and could face severe penalties for doing so," the Times explains.

The single data file the Times obtained is "By far the largest and most sensitive ever to be reviewed by journalists," the Times claims, containing "More than 50 billion location pings from the phones of more than 12 million Americans as they moved through several major cities, including Washington, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles." That data covers a period of several months in 2016 and 2017, the Times notes.

Times researchers spent "Months" analyzing the data, and in that time tracked cell phone activity involving some very famous names.

"One search turned up more than a dozen people visiting the Playboy Mansion, some overnight," the Times reports.

The same phone pinged a dozen times at the nearby Secret Service field office and events with elected officials.

https://www.dailywire.com/news/nyt-we-spied-on-trump-with-smart-phone-tracking-data

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