The location-based services (LBS) market has come a long way over the past year. It's on the docket with House subcommittees and just yesterday Foursquare, an LBS provider, broke into the mainstream with a flashy television spot on cable network Bravo.
While LBS has inherent conveniences – locating friends, lost children, the nearest Starbucks – the services also have the potential for gross violations of a person's privacy.
Google's recent launch of Google Buzz, a social network that integrates with Gmail users' e-mail address books, has brought attention to possible abuses of LBS. Since the service rolled out, Buzz has generated a host of criticisms from users who say the service, which generates a social network from users' most e-mailed contacts, was poorly designed in that user information and location was released without consent or clearly explained opt-in procedures.
Yesterday, CTIA Senior Vice President and General Counsel Michael Altschul testified before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet, as well as the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.
The pair of House subcommittees was inquiring as to the possible dangers inherent in LBS.
"When the Wireless Communications and Public Safety Enhancement Act of 1999 was passed, there was a widely held assumption that location-based services would involve a wireless carrier having access to a user's location information and then using or sharing that information to provide a location-based service," Altschul said.
But things have change since 1999. Altschul said that the rapid evolution toward open platforms, smartphone adoption and the prevalence of GPS-enabled apps and devices has forced CTIA to update its guidelines.
"As technology continues to evolve, we would encourage Congress to clarify the terms under which location information may be released to law enforcement. When dealing with these issues, we also urge Congress to recognize the interstate nature of location-based services and the mobility of wireless users so they take a national approach so customers' privacy are maintained while fostering innovation, investment, and the introduction of new location based services by wireless carriers, device manufacturers, operating systems developers, and applications creators," Altschul testified.