If a mobile operator promised its subscribers certain privacy protections and didn't deliver them, that could be grounds for a breach-of-contract suit or even an action by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission against deceptive practices, Schwartz said.

The fact that Verizon found out about these breaches and acted on them is actually a good sign that the industry may be moving in the right direction, Schwartz said.

Opsahl of EFF, which has clashed with the Bush administration over alleged illegal federal wiretapping in the case of Hepting versus AT&T, sees another possible silver lining.

The question of call-record privacy is key to Hepting vs. AT&T, where the government is alleged to have monitored who called whom on some carriers' wired networks. Voting as a U.S. Senator earlier this year, Obama approved a law that in part granted some immunity to carriers in such cases. Opsahl said this case may contain a lesson.

"It might help Obama understand the invasiveness of the warrantless surveillance program," Opsahl said.