CNET News reports on one operating system's collection of millions of devices' location-based data, including laptops, cell phones and other WiFi devices. According to the report, Microsoft collects and publishes such locations--which can be as specific as a street address--to a database intended to help deliver location-based search results such as weather, movie times, maps and directions. Meanwhile, a Stanford researcher lists the ways identity can be linked to data that was initially collected anonymously, and an article in The Economist reports on soon-to-be unveiled research demonstrating the ease with which facial recognition technology can be used to identify "random passersby" and "personal details about them."
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