84% of survey respondents want child tracking service October 23, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking cell phones, GPS tracking children , 1 comment so far
Tele Atlas, the road navigation data company being bought by TomTom, has published the results of a wireless GPS survey. Among other findings the study reports that:
84 percent of respondents expressed interest in “child locator” services that would show a detailed route to where their child is currently, and 47 percent expressed interest in “friend locator” services.
A healthy willingness for subscribers to pay for such services: Approximately 74 percent of respondents with a minor child indicated an acceptance of monthly fees for “child locator” offerings, and nearly 40 percent of respondents indicated wiliness to pay for “friend locator” offerings. Of note, respondents expressed heightened interest for such offerings if provided via ad-sponsored models.
GPS detectors, jammers and spoofers September 24, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking and public safety, GPS tracking law , 1 comment so farSusan Brenner, a law professor specializing in cybercrime, has posted an article on GPS detectors, jammers and spoofers on her blog CYB3RCRIM3. It takes a while before she gets to the meat of it, but it’s a worthwhile read.
Along the way, she compares and contrasts state and federal treatment of radar detectors, how these devices could be used by criminals, the ability of government to outlaw tools that can be used in committing a crime, and public safety hazards associated with use of these devices.
Some basic points:
GPS detectors
It is not technically possible to detect a GPS receiver, only those devices which transmit your position.
GPS jamming devices
Apparently, these are not illegal in the U.S., though Ms. Brenner makes a case that they can (and should be) made illegal.
GPS spoofers
She also feels that spoofers, devices which can cause false location information to be received and therefore transmitted, also warrant outlawing.
GPS tracking in school uniforms August 21, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking children , 2 commentsFrom the UK comes news that Trutex, the country’s largest seller of school uniforms, is considering incorporating GPS tracking in future product lines. From Gizmodo UK:
According to its survey, 44% of parents want to tag their children with GPS tracking devices while almost 60% would be pay for GPS devices that are incorporated into the school uniform.
Interestingly, 39% of kids from 9-12 years old want to be tagged, saying they feel safer if their parents know where they are. Unsurprisingly, kids aged over 13 were less keen on Mom and Pop knowing their whereabouts.
GPS jamming device July 31, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking employees, GPS tracking and privacy, GPS vehicle tracking , 2 comments
Is someone snooping on you? Maybe you’re just paranoid; then again, maybe not. Well Chinavasion (no, I’m not making that name up) has a forthcoming GPS jamming device on their website that claims to be able to block signals over a range of 2 to 4 meters. Theoretically, that is enough to effectively eliminate the tracking threat. No word on availability, pricing or legality in the U.S.! (more…)
Mercedes-Benz ignores two court orders to track hit and run driver before complying July 16, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking and public safety, GPS tracking law, GPS vehicle tracking , 11 commentsLast Tuesday night, 24-year-old Elizabeth Sandoval was killed by a hit and run driver in Glendale, California. Thanks to witness descriptions, the car and license tag were identified. Last Friday, Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams…
…admonished Mercedes-Benz of North America for refusing to comply with a court order to activate the car’s standard Global Positioning System so that authorities might pinpoint the sedan’s exact location.
“It’s one of the most frustrating thing in my 35 years of law enforcement,” he told reporters.
A court order police obtained at 2:30 p.m. Friday was faxed to Mercedes-Benz North American headquarters in New Jersey and to the company that provides the global positioning satellite service, Irving, Texas-based Tele-Aid.
Maryland bill proposes GPS tracking of truant students February 12, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking children , add a commentWow. I’m a fan of GPS tracking, but maybe this is going too far. A legislator in Maryland has proposed GPS monitoring for truant students — repeat offenders anyway.
Maryland Delegate Doyle Niemann (D-Prince George’s Co.) says it’s not enough to simply hold parents accountable when their children don’t show up for school.
“They’re not in control of their children. They take them to school, the kid walks in the front door and then out the back door. It doesn’t make any sense to continue to beat on the parents,” he says.
7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals okays surreptitious GPS tracking by police February 4, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking law, GPS vehicle tracking , 25 commentsOn February 2, the 7th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, ruled against a defendant who claimed that the surreptitious placement of a GPS tracking device amounted to an unconstitutional search. From the court’s decision:
The police had not obtained a warrant authorizing them to place the GPS tracker on the defendant’s car. The district judge, however, found that they had had a reasonable suspicion that the defendant was engaged in criminal activity, and she ruled that reasonable suspicion was all they needed for a lawful search, although she added that they had had probable cause as well. The
defendant argues that they needed not only probable cause to believe that the search would turn up contraband or evidence of crime, but also a warrant. The government argues that they needed nothing because there was no search or seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.
Fresno police use GPS tracking to battle drunk drivers January 6, 2007
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking and public safety , add a commentFresno, California police are using GPS to battle drunk drivers:
…they are covertly planting Global Positioning System devices on the cars of convicted drunken drivers to monitor whether they are going to bars or liquor stores in violation of their probation or parole.
They are using other high-tech equipment as well, including night-vision goggles. Police say that the surreptitious placement of GPS tracking devices is permitted under parole and probation terms, but the ACLU says they are over reaching.
The GPS tracking is actually part of an aggressive program started four years ago that includes police watching and waiting outside bars and weeknight DUI checkpoints.
Technorati tag: GPS tracking
GPS tracking of employees can cut costs and increase sales December 11, 2006
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking employees, GPS tracking and privacy , add a commentAn interesting article has shown up at the DenverPost.com, about GPS tracking of employees. According to Larry Overley, president of Landtech Contractors, a landscape company:
“It cuts down on guys leaving the job site. It helps us with our payroll costs because guys can’t fudge on their time sheet. We know when they get to the job, and we know when they leave the job,” he said.
The system, in use for six years, cut labor costs at the Aurora-based commercial landscaping company by about 3 percent in the first year.
Another company has seen increased sales as a result of GPS tracking:
GPS cell phone tracking meets social networking November 17, 2006
Posted by Rich in : GPS tracking and privacy, GPS tracking cell phones , 1 comment so far
Earlier this week, Loopt announced a partnership with Sprint Nextel’s Boost Mobile to offer a social networking service on GPS cell phones. According to the companies, this is:
…the first-of-a-kind location-based social mapping service that enables young mobile phone users to share their location, status messages, photos and other on-the-go experiences with friends from their Boost Mobile phone. Unlike other social location services, Boost loopt, available to all Boost users on November 20, automatically updates the location of everyone in a private network of Boost customers and displays that information directly on a map on the phone. Boost loopt even sends an alert when a friend in the network is near, putting an end to missed connections in the mall, at the movies or around town.
Technorati tags: GPS tracking
