Global Positioning System technology (GPS) is making it possible for drivers never lose their way again. Companies have developed GPS systems for cars that can send directions to drivers based on their locations. In addition, GPS enables cars to pass through tollbooths without stopping and tracks stolen cars.
The system can also monitor people. In some states, non-violent prisoners wear GPS-based bracelets in lieu of serving jail time. In Japan, health experts are experimenting with monitoring Alzheimer’s patient’s whereabouts through GPS. Several telecom companies are developing a system to track children through GPS. New York transportation authorities have turned over records of its E-Z Pass toll to police during a criminal investigation.
Unfortunately, the future of GPS looks to be bittersweet. Some websites sell devices that allow you to secretly track another car’s movements. Last year, a man was charged with stalking his former live-in girlfriend by planting a GPS device on her car.
Privacy watchdogs are also wary that FBI and local police officials could have access to your whereabouts by logging onto a database attached to a cell phone, tollbooth, or GPS tracker. Privacy advocates fear that agencies that are not used to handling privacy information, such as transit authorities, will become the keepers of personal facts that people do not want publicized.
Privacy issues come down to who controls the information in a GPS system. Consumers can protect their own privacy by refusing to deal with companies that threaten to violate it. Some products require users to push a button on their GPS device if they want to transmit their whereabouts. Under this system, companies cannot track someone without their permission. Thus, if consumers demand privacy protection now, GPS companies will be pushed to make it a priority.
Additional Sources
1. http://www.wired.com/new/print/0,1294,57576,00.html
2. http://www.pocketgps.co.uk/privacyfuture.asp
3. http://news.com.com/2009-1033-248462.html?tag=rn
