"Companies need to have the trust of the consumer in order to get them to use the product," said Ari Schwartz, senior policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology, discussing the location tracking abilities of new cell phones. "If the technology is going to be a digital dog tag, people aren't going to use it."
Wireless operators are required by the Federal Communications Commission to implement technology that can pinpoint the location of customers for 911 calls. To help cover the cost of that technology, operators are keen to introduce fee-based services that use the technology. Privacy groups, however, believe that the potential for abuse of location information is high, and that customers do not want to be bombarded by advertisers that might get access to the information. Wireless carriers support the privacy push because they don't want to lose the potential revenue from such services due to customer fears.
The question now is exactly how location information should be controlled. The Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association - formerly the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association - filed a petition with the FCC requesting a rule that would require operators to get customers' approval for locating them and assure customers of the security of that information. The Federal Trade Commission scheduled a two-day public meeting next week to discuss the implications of location-based services. If the FTC decides to enact a rule, it will likely do so in conjunction with the FCC, an FCC spokesman said.
Privacy groups are anxious to secure regulations before the services go commercial. "We're ahead of the game," Schwartz said. "It gives us the opportunity to speak up and say it's not acceptable to use location information as a general piece of information to be turned over in any circumstance."
Wireless players may be more eager to police themselves, however. "I'm not totally sure people are seeking regulations," said Mike Amarosa, vice president for public affairs at TruePosition, a location information provider. TruePosition requires customer consent before it will furnish location data.
