US Government-funded Android phones come preinstalled with unremovable malware: Phones were sold to low-income people under the FCC's Lifeline Assistance program.

submitted by [deleted] from arstechnica.com

sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun
you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]FormosaOolong 6 insightful - 4 fun6 insightful - 3 fun7 insightful - 4 fun -  (3 children)

I'm starting to think everything is a massive psyop to make people feel they can trust nothing and no one, and just slowly slide them into paranoia and despair.

[–]jamesK_3rd 5 insightful - 2 fun5 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Perhaps a better takeaway is, (especially but not exclusively when pertaining to the government), anything that has been given to you for free might not be as free as you think. At the very least, it may not be designed for your direct benefit.

I don't think it's shocking at all. I mean the government tells institutions that accept funding which students they can discriminate against. It tells grocery stores what items do and don't qualify for WIC(food stamps). Why should it be any different for individuals who want a government subsidized cell phone/internet. They absolutely have the right to spy on them.

[–]FormosaOolong 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I disagree that they have the "right". A gift is not supposed to be a trojan horse, and it's right out of the abuser's handbook to make you believe that if you accept a gift, or a service, you also accept all sorts of unacceptable things--even secret, nasty, unwanted things without your consent.

Just because the gov't has been doing the sorts of things you mentioned, does not make it correct, or their right.

I think we should ALL expect a reasonable degree of privacy, no matter if we are wealthy enough to buy it, or are in a spot where we need to accept assistance. It's a sad day when we equate need with giving up our fundamental dignity and civil/human rights.

[–]jamesK_3rd 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

First, these programs aren't "gifts" from the government.

Second, I'm operating under the assumption that many of these programs from the government come with nasty terms of service. The same kind most people just check a box without thinking that let's Google rifle through email to find ads of what you might be looking to purchase for convenience.

I generally agree with you in principle about privacy. But the government is not a supporter of that, and their help comes with stipulations, like it or not. Years ago, people turned to actual social institutions, and these actually met the needs of people at the local level . Churches, synagogues, Lions clubs, moose and elk lodge, just to name a few examples.

Most of these have fallen by the wayside now, and the masses much prefer the safety and blanket checkboxes of government assistance and "gifts", regardless of if the price is their privacy or worse, their freedom. It's that reason I'm quite pessimistic long term about the USA.