how is this whole cell-phone record thing legal in any possible way? Come to think of it, how is any of that shit legal (between buying financial records online to looking up address/phone number histories...online)? It just seems like it would be impossible to forget about something like this when setting up consumer privacy laws and whatnot, but then here we are. I mean, I thought we were supposed to have absurdly strict anti-stalking laws, but doesn't this make it a billion times easier to do this?

anyone?

what is it? you mean a directory of cell phone numbers? most of what you mention is probably legal due to contracts you sign but never really read the fine print of.

i am taking consumer law right now - so I will have more information for you later.

I mean the selling of cell numbers specifically, it looks like it might now be entirely legal, but is sure isn't stopping these people. In addition though, what about the already existing sites where you can pretty much find out someone's personal information for a niminal fee? I just don't get this stuff. Below are some links about the shitstorm that hit the news last night though.

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It seems like from your article links that selling the data itself isn't illegal, but that how these companies obtained the data likely was. But short of catching them in the act of stealing the data or "pretexting," its hard for the government to do anything about it. That said, if enough lawsuits are brought against these firms I doubt they'll have enough $ to really defend themselves even if it were hard to make a legal case against them.

I don't think there's much out there in the way of "consumer privacy laws." Giving someone a right to sue anyone who sells information about them brings up free speech concerns in several areas (news reporting is one).

I recognize that and was suggesting that there was little the government could likely due if they couldn't prove that the data was either stolen or acquired by other illegal means.

Private lawsuits however, whether legally meritorious or not, could drive these firms out of business. It seems at least from the articles like this is a nascent industry and the firms involved are unlikely to be well-capitalized. Legal bills to defend against even unmeritorious lawsuits add up very quickly and its very hard to raise any new capital when it appears that its mainly going to go to legal defense efforts.

Oh, I wasn't trying to respond to your post, just Cotton's.