Privacy has been a big issue this year and this post will not make you feel any safer.
Let’s start earlier this week, when the American Civil Liverties Union released documents showing more than 200 police departments around the country tracking users locations and dating other information. This information was obtained through Freedom of Information Requests.
Forbes has dug deeper into the prices AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon charge for various requests.
AT&T:
Wiretap: $325 activation fee, $5 per day for data, $10 a day for voice
Access to voicemail: $150 per request
Tower Dump (see numbers of every user accessing a certain tower over a certain time): $75 per tower per hour
Real-time Location Tracking: $100 activation fee, $25 a day
Verizon:
Wiretap: $50 administrative fee, $700 per month, per request
Access to Text Messages: $50 per request
Tower Dump (see numbers of every user accessing a certain tower over a certain time): Between $30 and $60 per hour
Real-time Location Tracking: May not offered
Sprint:
Wiretap: $400 per “market area” and per “technology”, $10 a day, capped at $2,000
Access to Data: $120 for pictures or video, $60 for email, $60 for voicemail, $30 for text messages
Tower Dump (see numbers of every user accessing a certain tower over a certain time): $50 per tower
Real-time Location Tracking: $30 per month, per request
Source: Forbes