CELLPHONES: WHO IS REALLY LISTENING ON THE OTHER LINE?

Think your cellphone calls are private? Well, think again.

If you own a cell phone, you might as well kiss your privacy goodbye.  Your cell phone company knows more about you then your closest friend – they know your location at all times, who you talk to, what you say on the phone and via text. They are tracking you everywhere you go.

And what’s worse is that this information is available at a price.

More then likely there is a good chance that your cell phone company has been selling your information to anyone that is willing to pay the price – including local law enforcement.

New evidence from the American Civil Liberties Union shows that phone location tracking has also become a surprisingly common tool of law-enforcement investigations — with, but often without, a warrant.

You’re probably saying – don’t the police need a warrant for that? It varies by state, but cell phone companies say they usually require a court order to release this data. Regardless of these requirements, however, “Only a tiny minority reported consistently obtaining a warrant and demonstrating probable cause to do so,” said the ACLU.

According to a recent, New York Times article, many local police departments are doing this without getting a warrant first….

“Law enforcement tracking of cellphones, once the province mainly of federal agents, has become a powerful and widely used surveillance tool for local police officials, with hundreds of departments, large and small, often using it aggressively with little or no court oversight.”

This is an issue that concerns all of us. Everything you say, your location and your most private details are open for others to listen to – for a price. We have no control over this and what’s worse- no one seems to be doing anything about it.

Want to protect your civil rights and privacy?? Then put your cell phone in airplane mode or turn it off. This doesn’t however protect your texts or phone calls.

Big Brother is always watching.