Who’s Tracking You?

The history of global positioning systems had its start back in the late 1950s with the launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik satellite. Scientists found they could track the satellite’s location on its orbital path based on the Doppler effect of its signals. This discovery eventually led to the development of today’s Global Positioning System (GPS)—the ability to use satellites in orbit to bounce information to people on Earth about their own location—and not just their location, but also up-to-the-moment information on their rate of speed, the shortest route from their current location to a proposed destination, and so on. GPS was fully launched in 1994, and today it’s difficult for some of us to imagine taking a trip of any distance without accessing GPS data available as close as our cell phone.

In more recent years, though, GPS technology has more and more frequently been used to track the location of individual citizens, often without their knowledge. Such use of this technology has understandably caused widespread concern. Where do individuals’ rights to privacy end and corporations’ rights to access data begin? Is it OK even if the data is “randomized” or “anonymized”?

Examples from the United Kingdom

In August and September of 2013, some Londoners were shocked and angered to discover that the GPS technology on their phones was being used not only to help the phones’ owners get from point A to point B, but also to provide information to government agencies and private companies about the owners themselves. At least two events revealed creative harvesting of GPS data by companies that did not have owners’ permission to do so.

• The City of London Corporation required a company called Renew to turn off the monitoring capabilities of, of all things, trash bins that had been installed in a dozen different locations in the city. The bins were equipped with technology that would allow them to obtain GPS data from passersby and send it back to the company. The purpose of such data-gathering would ostensibly assist companies in marketing efforts, helping them know the types of people who tend to gather in a certain area of the town and target the digital marketing that appears on the trash bins to specific demographic groups. Renew’s CEO defended the company’s practice, claiming that as long as people’s names and addresses were not attached to the information, there was nothing illegal about the activity. As mentioned above, the City of London Corporation disagreed and required that the devices be turned off, and the Information Commissioner’s Office vowed to follow up.


• On the heels of the events above, London’s Daily Telegraph revealed that England’s Highways Agency was harvesting GPS data from Brits’ cell phones. The data can be used for one of two purposes. In one case phone companies use information on cell phone owners’ locations by tracking their movements, noting when they move from one mobile phone “cell” to another. In another case, the Highways Agency is able to obtain location information retrieved through drivers’ uses of GPS technology. According to the Highways Agency, they “anonymize” the information and want it only to help track how crowded roadways are and also to note trends in traffic patterns.

Cell Phones in the UK

How widely used are cell phones in the UK? The following information is provided by the Mobile Operators Association (MOA). The MOA is a support organization that represents England’s four mobile network providers (Vodafone, EE, O2, and Three) and deals with mobile phone technology’s effects on town planning and health and safety. Their published information for 2013 includes the following facts:

• England boasts nearly 83 million mobile subscriptions.


• 94 percent of all Brits own a mobile phone.


• In 2011, approximately 31 million subscribers used their mobile phones to access the Internet. In 2012, over 40 million subscribers did so—an increase of 29 percent.


• In 2013 only one-half of one percent of UK homes lacked 2G mobile coverage and over 99% of connected homes also had access to 3G coverage.

What Does the Future Hold?

It’s the age-old question when it comes to science: just because we can do something, does that make it acceptable to do it? GPS technology can be used to track users’ whereabouts, but should it be? Probably most people would answer no, if the technology is used without the owners’ knowledge. But what if owners agree to it? Or what if the freedom for companies to track your location becomes part of one of those wordy End Users’ License Agreements that so few people read?

GPS technologies are a great tool for mankind. How their use will continue to evolve in the future remains to be seen. But as that evolution occurs, it serves consumers well to keep in mind the old saying, “Let the buyer beware.”

Who’s Tracking You?