The Players

The Players

The players in wireless privacy discussions are similar to those we have investigated throughout this text. Each one has a different stake in the privacy game. Wireless carriers want to keep their customers happy and do not care what their users are buying or viewing or to whom they are talking as long as they are paying for service. Wireless carriers tend to be sensitive to privacy concerns and do not want spam. The wireless industry backs proposed privacy legislation with full force. It wants to be seen as a consumer advocate and is smart in doing so. The wireless industry sees itself as being able to set itself apart from the wired industry by establishing a higher standard of privacy protection for consumers.

Application providers, on the other hand, abuse the system if given the chance. If not explicitly prohibited from using opt-out policies, application providers maximize their marketing possibilities by taking advantage of any personal information they can gather. Application providers and wireless advertising companies such as the Wireless Advertising Association (WAA) are generally opposed to regulations on how to manage consumer-identifying information and want the industry to "regulate itself." We have seen how (un)successful that has proved to be in the wired world. Application providers are not concerned with minimizing or maximizing time billed for connection service. They want to sell more of their applications and services. They are not motivated to protect consumer privacy because they hope to avoid establishing a high standard of privacy.

Privacy advocates tend to be technical experts, consumer advocates, and civil liberties enthusiasts. By keeping Congress, the FTC, and the FCC aware of the dangers of lax privacy regulations, privacy advocates pave the way for safer wireless telecommunications systems.