[akerro]

>Security contractors recently discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages. The American authorities say it is not clear whether this represents secretive data mining for advertising purposes or a Chinese government effort to collect intelligence.

We can tell the same about Facebook, Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Uber, Microsoft, Visa, AmericanExpress...

[bluetwo]

Consent. The big difference is consent.

[QuantumRoar]

Do not use the Internet. Do not use phones. Do not use bank accounts. Do not travel by plane. Do not enter public spaces. Do not show your face.

Otherwise you accept our Terms of Service.

Thank you for trusting us.

(Is it just me or is it actually very hard to figure out whom I've given consent to do something with something that is mine?)

[wu-ikkyu]

>(Is it just me or is it actually very hard to figure out whom I've given consent to do something with something that is mine?)

Reading and understanding EULAs for every tool you use is a full time job that requires a law degree.

[bluetwo]

Even in the age of the internet there is still a thing called the "warranty of merchantability" which says the thing you buy should be the thing you expected to buy. A stereo should play music, a phone should be a phone, a pizza should be a pizza.

[static_noise]

Somehow the USA manages that almost every key IT corporation has their headquarters in the states sooner or later.

[akerro]

I think that's because market is more mature and people adopt thing quicker, so it's easier to sell more at the beginning of a business.

[static_noise]

The big market and financial strength is one important factor but I believe that there are quite a few other forces at work which are not so obvious.

[Programmatic]

Do you have any hypothesis on the potential forces at work?

[static_noise]

Sorry, I can't provide you with any good hypothesis. I'm just looking at what is known assuming that if something is of statistical significance without an obvious cause, that there is probably something going on that we don't see. Yet, correlation is no proof auf causation.

[ralfn]

Its actually easier to believe this was by accident because in China there is no expectation of privacy.