Data Protection

Once upon a time, I spent rather large (probably too large) parts of the day considering the issue of data protection. The concept is about as foreign as I am in China.

It has become clear that my phone number is being spread far and wide. I regularly receive unsolicited text messages in Chinese which, I am reliably informed, offer information on a wide range of subjects including call girls - apparently the concept of targetted marketing is also alien here.

This week I received the following call on my China Mobile operated mobile phone.

"Hello, where are you from?" said a Chinese lady in English.

"You called me, where are you from?" I replied.

"I don't know how to introduce myself. I am from China Unicom". China Unicom is China Mobile's only competitor and the entity which Jamie is struggling to do business with.

"Do you know China Unicom?"

"Er, yes, I do." subtext, you're the bastards welching on your deal.;

"Good, welcome to China. Goodbye".

What was the purpose of the call? As a marketing ploy to get me to change to China Unicom, it was woeful and how on earth did they not only get my phone number but know that I was a foreigner. Better not to ask I think.