Does this seem illegal to you?

[Timothy C. May]

>     Hi.  Just picked this up from alt.dcom.telecom.  Doesn't it seem like
> an illegal invasion of privacy to do something like this?  Or maybe
> I just don't have the whole picture. Anyway, here it is:
> 
> 
> >GOING FROM A TO B.  You're in your car.  You're at A.  You want to go
> >to B.  You have no idea where B is.  So you go to a Sprint payphone
> >and use its TeleMap service, give the telephone number of your
> >destination, and receive precise directions. (Tampa Tribune 9/12/93
> >B&F 5)  Of course, if you have a wrong phone number, that may be a
> >problem.  You may go to C, wherever that is.
> 
>    -Dave  (rees at cs.bu.edu)

No. Phone area codes and prefixes already are "public knowledge"
pointers to neighborhoods...I don't know if the last 4 digits are, but
probably.

The "right to privacy" debate is often clouded, in my opinion, by
confusing ideas of what is and isn't mine, what others are "allowed"
to type into their computers or write in their address books, etc. In
a free sociey, if I come across a piece of information, I can write it
down, sell it, etc.

In a true free market, some phone companies might offer more privacy
features. Credit card companies know they will lose their card
subscribers if they go "too far" (a market issue) in disclosing credit
records to third parties. This is quite analogous to your scenario
described here.

Your friend at "B" needs to consider other options, such as using
remote message services for his phone needs, switches of the sort
George Gleason and others have talked about, and so on. (I don't think
merely having an unlisted number is enough, though.)

Market solutions generally are better than coercive laws.

-Tim May


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