Daren M. Orzechowski, Allison M. Dodd, Imtiaz Yakub write:
The collection, use and disclosure of geolocation information obtained from customers’ mobile devices has become commonplace among mobile phone providers and third party application developers. Geolocation information identifies the location of the individual using the device and is often used to provide location based information, advertisements and services to consumers. Current federal law allows companies to collect and share this information with third parties without the need to obtain consent from their customers.1 This practice has garnered significant media attention in recent months, and has raised privacy concerns among consumers.
In response to these privacy concerns, two federal bills, the Location Privacy Protection Act (“LPPA”)2 and the Geolocational Privacy and Surveillance Act (“GPS Act”)3, were recently introduced. If enacted, this legislation would restrict the collection and use by non-governmental entities (and, in the case of the LPPA only, governmental entities including law enforcement agencies) of geolocation information collected by mobile devices without consumer consent. The LPPA was introduced by Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on June 16, 2011, while the GPS Act was introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) on June 15, 2011.
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