Does this seem illegal to you?

Hi.  Just picked this up from alt.dcom.telecom.  Doesn't it seem like
an illegal invasion of privacy to do something like this?  Or maybe
I just don't have the whole picture. Anyway, here it is:


>GOING FROM A TO B.  You're in your car.  You're at A.  You want to go
>to B.  You have no idea where B is.  So you go to a Sprint payphone
>and use its TeleMap service, give the telephone number of your
>destination, and receive precise directions. (Tampa Tribune 9/12/93
>B&F 5)  Of course, if you have a wrong phone number, that may be a
>problem.  You may go to C, wherever that is.

   -Dave  (rees@cs.bu.edu)

Actually you don't have to give the exact phone number.  In most dense areas
the phone number prefix should be enough to get you in the proximity of
where you want to go.  Then when you get there, find a pay phone call up
the person you want to reach and ask for directions from your current
location.

Of course, it becomes an invasion of privacy if you use the guy's real
number and he hasn't invited you!

A1 Ray A. writes:

> Actually you don't have to give the exact phone number.  In most dense areas
> the phone number prefix should be enough to get you in the proximity of
> where you want to go.  Then when you get there, find a pay phone call up
> the person you want to reach and ask for directions from your current
> location.
> 
> Of course, it becomes an invasion of privacy if you use the guy's real
> number and he hasn't invited you!

Nonsense! (Not to sound like David Sternlight, or anything.)

This is what doors and locks are all about: to keep out folks who come
to our houses uninvited.

Anyone is free to look up the publically available information (or
privately available, if they get access to it...another matter) and go
to a physical location. My house, your house, Dorothy Denning's house,
whatever.

Trespass is another matter entirely. So is "stalking" (though I fear
the concept is being increasingly overused and may infringe other
basic rights).

-Tim May


-- 
..........................................................................
Timothy C. May         | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,  
tcmay@netcom.com       | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
408-688-5409           | knowledge, reputations, information markets, 
W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA  | black markets, collapse of governments.
Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available.
Note: I put time and money into writing this posting. I hope you enjoy it.

>     Hi.  Just picked this up from alt.dcom.telecom.  Doesn't it seem like
> an illegal invasion of privacy to do something like this?  Or maybe
> I just don't have the whole picture. Anyway, here it is:
> 
> 
> >GOING FROM A TO B.  You're in your car.  You're at A.  You want to go
> >to B.  You have no idea where B is.  So you go to a Sprint payphone
> >and use its TeleMap service, give the telephone number of your
> >destination, and receive precise directions. (Tampa Tribune 9/12/93
> >B&F 5)  Of course, if you have a wrong phone number, that may be a
> >problem.  You may go to C, wherever that is.
> 
>    -Dave  (rees@cs.bu.edu)

No. Phone area codes and prefixes already are "public knowledge"
pointers to neighborhoods...I don't know if the last 4 digits are, but
probably.

The "right to privacy" debate is often clouded, in my opinion, by
confusing ideas of what is and isn't mine, what others are "allowed"
to type into their computers or write in their address books, etc. In
a free sociey, if I come across a piece of information, I can write it
down, sell it, etc.

In a true free market, some phone companies might offer more privacy
features. Credit card companies know they will lose their card
subscribers if they go "too far" (a market issue) in disclosing credit
records to third parties. This is quite analogous to your scenario
described here.

Your friend at "B" needs to consider other options, such as using
remote message services for his phone needs, switches of the sort
George Gleason and others have talked about, and so on. (I don't think
merely having an unlisted number is enough, though.)

Market solutions generally are better than coercive laws.

-Tim May


-- 
..........................................................................
Timothy C. May         | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,  
tcmay@netcom.com       | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
408-688-5409           | knowledge, reputations, information markets, 
W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA  | black markets, collapse of governments.
Higher Power: 2^756839 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available.
Note: I put time and money into writing this posting. I hope you enjoy it.