In a report released today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) documents how your location information is collected by various popular electronic devices and services, and argues for concrete technological solutions that would allow you to enjoy these systems’ benefits without sacrificing your privacy in your everyday life.
“There are nifty new location-based technologies like electronic road-toll tags and cell-phone apps that alert
you when your friends are nearby — but these systems often create and store records of your movements,” said EFF Staff Technologist Peter Eckersley, one of the co-writers of the white paper. “This could make it possible for others to know when you visited a health clinic, what church or bar you spend time in, or who you go to lunch with. It is essential that privacy-protecting algorithms are built into these devices and services, so we can enjoy their convenience without making our private lives into open books.”
For the full white paper “On Locational Privacy, and How to
Avoid Losing it Forever”:
http://www.eff.org/wp/locational-privacy
To read EFF’s full press release:
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2009/08/05