maemo.org - Talk - Nokia 206: Privacy killer message: Is it illegal?

Hi, I'm new to this forum. A week ago I posted two messages on a Nokia privacy/legal issue at other forum (gsmarena). Since I have not received any feedback, I have searched for other forum where I could discuss that type of issue, and someone has recommended me this forum (maemo). So I'm re-posting the messages here. I think that the key point is: Is Nokia doing an illegal thing? (at least in some countries, such as european ones).

Related thread: http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=53565

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Message 1
(posted on 2014-01-03 15:05, at http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_206-reviews-5138.php)

After inserting the SIM and powering the phone on, it has asked me for sending a message to Nokia with the IMEI and my position (city). So I said: What????

I didn't believe what I was reading. The phone wanted to send a message to Nokia, and it didn't give me an option to avoid it. You are forced to send the message if you want the phone to start up. No option to "Cancel" the message. The only opcion was to read a text, which explained the information it was going to send. The first words were "Nokia respects your privacy". What??? Is it a joke? You are forcing me to send you my private information, and you are saying that you respect my privacy? Is it a joke?

And how do they know my city? 206 has got no GPS. So how is the city inserted into the message?

I love my privacy. I don't like Nokia to pull our personal data to their database. Even worse, I don't like Nokia to force me to send the information. "Give your data, or you won't be able to use the phone". I don't want citizens to be slaves of big corporations.

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Message 2
(posted on 2014-01-04 17:38, at http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_206-reviews-5138.php)

More information on the privacy-killer message.

After being sent to Nokia, the message is not saved to the "Sent Messages" folder. So we can't see the information that has been pulled. Nokia want our personal information, but they don't want we to see the information they have taken. Is that the way "Nokia repects your privacy"?

I have found a long thread on the same problem for other Nokia model (note that the thread was started at 2010, so Nokia has been doing this thing for 4 years at least):

http://talk.maemo.org/archive/index.php/t-53565.html

The thread says that, by that year (2010), the message was sent automatically to Nokia (no warning was shown in the screen first). Now (2014), 206 shows a warning, but you don't have an option to avoid the message to be sent. You can only continue (and send the message), or shut down the phone. You are forced to send the message (with your personal information) if you want to use the phone.

The thread also describes the information that is sent to Nokia:

- Phone number (goes in the "From" field of the message). Yes, it is the phonenumber that people use to call you!
- Device serial number (IMEI).
- MCC (Mobile country code).
- IMSI (International mobile subscriber identity) taken from your SIM.

And you can't use your phone if you don't give all of that information to Nokia! How is it possible? How is it legal?

The phone number is private information (and probably the rest of the data pulled by Nokia are private too). And, at least in my country, the Personal Data Protection Law says that a user can't be forced to give personal data that is not necesary for a product to work. Nokia forces the user to give personal data that is not necesary for the phone to work. So it is illegal. And, since the law comes from an European Directive, Nokia is doing a thing that is probably illegal in whole the European Union. Any lawyer in the room?

Even if it was legal, it is not ethical. I don't trust Nokia any more. I have moved it to my list of evil corporations.