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0 pointsjtbayly1y ago0 comments

It’s actually not Google’s phone number, as evidenced by the fact that he could have gone to the FCC and gotten it back if Google refused to release it to him.

Edited to add: Also, it’s not true that phone numbers are only so important because of identity verification. That is one reason, but solving that doesn’t let my children’s school call me if Google shuts my number down, just to give one example.

Edited to add again: It’s unclear to me now if the FCC actually requires Google to release the number or if Google voluntarily does it (eg to avoid problems with the FCC getting more involved).

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runjake1y ago

> It’s actually not Google’s phone number

IANAL, but according to the Reddit post mentioned in this thread, the number isn't yours:

"Consumer Google Voice is not a FCC-regulated Local Exchange Carrier, and you have no explicit nor implied rights to the indefinite use of Google Voice telephone numbers."

"If you want to port the number out of the suspended service, you can file a FCC Consumer Complaint, asking for the number to be unlocked for porting out. These complaints get reviewed by Google's legal department. FCC complaints will NOT get your Google Voice service restored, as there is no regulation requiring Google to offer free service."

https://old.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/comments/17n4zl2/google...

jtbaylyOP1y ago

That’s interesting. Very unclear to me whether it says what you think it says. The emphasis seems to be on Google Voice service, not the number itself. I would expect the FCC complaint asking for number porting to go nowhere if Google didn’t believe they were required to release the number for porting.

runjake1y ago

Yeah, like I said, I'm not a lawyer, but I zeroed in on "you have no explicit nor implied rights to the indefinite use of Google Voice telephone numbers" in particular, for intent.

This is just a Reddit post and not a legal document, but the post is effectively the crowdsourced findings from a heck of a lot of Google's victims who have tried a number of different tactics.

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wiredfool1y ago

My google voice number predates Google buying a VOIP service where I had my number, and then killing that service and giving me google voice. So, it's not really google's number either.

lotsofpulp1y ago

Sorry, I should not have assumed that Google voice numbers provided for free are portable. Or at least not immediately released back to the pool of available numbers.

It is a free service, so I expected to not have any right to it.

I also feel like my only use for phone numbers for many years has been identity verification. If I lost access to it, I could be reached via multiple other communications avenues, but I can only get 2FA SMS sent to my phone number for many services, including government websites.

jtbaylyOP1y ago

That’s certainly a wise expectation, but that doesn’t make it right that the company can do that, whether you pay them or not. The fact that the FCC recognizes your right to the phone number you’ve been using (regardless of payment) is instructive.

Edited to add: from other comments, the FCC requiring them to release the number might actually be wrong. It’s possible that it is just Google being wise themselves to avoid trouble.

lotsofpulp1y ago

> but that doesn’t make it right that the company can do that, whether you pay them or not.

Yes, I just wanted to highlight that the focus on fixing this vulnerability should not have anything to do with Google, but rather elected leaders doing their job to protect everyone in society. Similar to blaming banks for closing accounts for seemingly no reason.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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runjake1y ago

> It’s actually not Google’s phone number

IANAL, but according to the Reddit post mentioned in this thread, the number isn't yours:

"Consumer Google Voice is not a FCC-regulated Local Exchange Carrier, and you have no explicit nor implied rights to the indefinite use of Google Voice telephone numbers."

https://old.reddit.com/r/Googlevoice/comments/17n4zl2/google...

jtbaylyOP1y ago

runjake1y ago

Yeah, like I said, I'm not a lawyer, but I zeroed in on "you have no explicit nor implied rights to the indefinite use of Google Voice telephone numbers" in particular, for intent.

This is just a Reddit post and not a legal document, but the post is effectively the crowdsourced findings from a heck of a lot of Google's victims who have tried a number of different tactics.

1 more reply

wiredfool1y ago

My google voice number predates Google buying a VOIP service where I had my number, and then killing that service and giving me google voice. So, it's not really google's number either.

lotsofpulp1y ago

Sorry, I should not have assumed that Google voice numbers provided for free are portable. Or at least not immediately released back to the pool of available numbers.

It is a free service, so I expected to not have any right to it.

jtbaylyOP1y ago

Edited to add: from other comments, the FCC requiring them to release the number might actually be wrong. It’s possible that it is just Google being wise themselves to avoid trouble.

lotsofpulp1y ago

> but that doesn’t make it right that the company can do that, whether you pay them or not.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse