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New from me: Muslims have been the subject of mass government surveillance for years, at times, for simply practicing their faith or participating in faith-based activities. That's why Muslim Pro's sale of location info felt like such a violation https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors
Muslim Pro said it didn't sell location data directly to the military, but confirmed it sold it to a broker that works with military contractors. @omarsuleiman504 said it felt defensive. “There has to be some humility to accept their responsibility." https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors
The revelation has sparked calls for government inquiries and regulation from at least 2 Muslim organizations - @CAIRNational + @ShuraNewYork. The latter is looking into how they can push for a privacy regulation like CA's CCPA in NY as a result of this. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors
Yes, most tech cos sell your info. But @ZahraBilloo said use of Muslim Pro is an indicator of faith & religiosity in ways that few others are. “If I’m checking Fajr everyday on Muslim Pro, then that tells the U.S. military something specific about me.” https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors
But how do you calculate prayer times w/o giving up ur privacy. Honestly it's hard bc it requires your location to calculate. Prayers times coincide with the position of the Sun throughout the day, so all apps have to calculate solar times. More on that: https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors
It is generally safer and easier to audit if you use apps that calculate the times on your device, rather than sending it to remote servers though, per @oalejel who built a prayer app in 2015. https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/story/2020-11-23/muslim-pro-data-location-sales-military-contractors
I should note: I will be doing a lot more coverage of surveillance & privacy and its impact on disenfranchised communities and the Muslim community will be a big part of this. So please email me at johana.bhuiyan@latimes.com or Signal at 213-309-9064 with tips.
I should ALSO note that @suhaunah will be doing a lot more coverage of vulnerable workers including gig workers. So please email her at suhauna.hussain@latimes.com with tips too!
