Facilitating Warrantless Surveillance of Customers

[krevello]

To Whom It May Concern:

As a Verizon Wireless customer, I was shocked and horrified to discover that Verizon apparently feels it is good policy to release private customer information to the federal government.

This is an absolutely shameful practice. There is an implicit trust in the relationship between business owners and their consumers. When soliciting a product or company, customers expect not only a good or service well worth their hard-earned money, but that the company does everything to protect what information the customer discloses upon time of purchase.

This is especially important for a company whose service facilitates customers relaying personal and private information to one another. The expectation is that by providing this service, paying customers can expect their private conversations to remain private.

Instead, Verizon Wireless has helped to contribute to a growing sense of fear, where innocent citizens must constantly be on guard, lest something they say be interpreted or seized in use against them. Paying customers ought to be able to live free from the fear of private communications being turned over to the government without cause.

Verizon Wireless has done irreparable damage to consumer through the warrantless releasing of customer phone call data to a third entity. By doing so, Verizon has assisted in government spying on innocent citizens. In doing so, they have circumvented the law, which stipulates that a person is innocent until proven guilty, and cannot be put under warrantless surveillance on the grounds of mere oversight.

Regardless of what type of information was given, this is a despicable practice. All customers, whose trust has been so blatantly violated, ought to be issued an immediate apology coupled with a promise that this practice ceases immediately.

You ought to be ashamed of this practice, and given that you have proven yourself to be a totally scruple-less company, deserve the inevitable decline in business which must surely follow.

[#2]

Read this:

http://www22.verizon.com/about/privacy/policy/#infochange

Information Shared Outside the Verizon Family of Companies:

Except as explained in this Privacy Policy, in privacy policies for specific services, or in agreements with our customers, Verizon does not sell, license or share information that individually identifies our customers, people using our networks, or website visitors with others outside the Verizon family of companies for non-Verizon purposes without the consent of the person whose information will be shared.

Verizon uses vendors and partners for a variety of business purposes such as to help us offer, provide, repair and bill for services we deliver to you. We share information with those vendors and partners to the extent reasonably necessary for them to perform work on our behalf. For example, we may provide your credit card information and billing address to our payment processing company solely for the purpose of processing payment for a transaction you have requested. We require that these vendors and partners protect the customer information we may provide to them and limit their use of Verizon customer data to the purposes for which it was provided. We do not permit these types of vendors and partners to use this information for their own marketing purposes.

As described in more detail in other sections of this policy, Verizon also may share certain information with outside companies to assist with the delivery of advertising campaigns, or preparing and sharing aggregate business and marketing reports.

Verizon provides the names, addresses and telephone numbers of wireline telephone subscribers to directory publishers and directory assistance services unless a non-published or non-listed phone number has been requested.

We may disclose information that individually identifies our customers or identifies customer devices in certain circumstances, such as:

• to comply with valid legal process including subpoenas, court orders or search warrants, and as otherwise authorized by law;
• in cases involving danger of death or serious physical injury to any person or other emergencies;
• to protect our rights or property, or the safety of our customers or employees;
• to protect against fraudulent, malicious, abusive, unauthorized or unlawful use of or subscription to our products and services and to protect our network, services, devices and users from such use;
• to advance or defend against complaints or legal claims in court, administrative proceedings and elsewhere;
• to credit bureaus or collection agencies for reporting purposes or to obtain payment for Verizon-billed products and services;
• to a third-party that you have authorized to verify your account information;
• to outside auditors and regulators; or
• with your consent.

If you purchase services offered jointly by Verizon and one of our partners, customer information may be received by both Verizon and our partner that is providing your service. For these jointly offered services, you should also review the partner company's privacy policy which may include practices that are different from the practices described here.

If Verizon enters into a merger, acquisition or sale of all or a portion of its assets or business, customer information will also be transferred as part of or in connection with the transaction.

[rcschnoor]

krevello wrote:

There is an implicit trust in the relationship between business owners and their consumers.

This in itself is quite funny as probably 50% of the people on these boards regard Verizon as a lying, cheating & money grubbing company. I don't think THOSE people have an "implicit trust" in Verizon.