U.S. Senators Al Franken and Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday introduced a bill that would require Apple, Google and other technology companies to obtain consent from mobile device users before collecting and sharing information about their geographic location with third parties.
The lawmakers say that the Location Privacy Protection Act of 2011 would close loopholes in current federal law and ensure mobile device users know if their location information is being collected, while also allowing them to decide if they want to share it.
Mobile application developers also would be subject to the bill.
Franken (D-Minn.) says an obscure section of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act allows smartphone makers, app developers and phone companies offering wireless internet service to disclose customers location data with third parties without first obtaining their consent.
“This legislation would give people the right to know what geolocation data is being collected about them and ensure they give their consent before it’s shared with others,” Franken, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, said in a statement.
The subcommittee discussed the issue of mobile-device privacy at a hearing last month that also included representatives from the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, Apple, Google, the mobile app development industry and technology experts.
“After listening to expert testimony at the hearing, I concluded that our laws do too little to protect information on our mobile devices,” Franken said.
In January 2009, a special report by the Department of Justice found that approximately 26,000 persons are victims of GPS stalking annually, including by cellphone.
In a December 2010 story, the Wall Street Journal reported that of 101 popular Apple and Android smart phones examined, 56 transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without user consent. The Journal found 47 apps that transmitted the phone's location without the consumer knowing.
“As smartphone technology continues to advance, it is vitally important that we keep pace with new developments to make sure consumer data is secure from being shared or sold without proper notification to consumers,” Blumenthal (D-Conn.)said in a statement.
The Center for Democracy and Technology, the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Network to End Domestic Violence are among several consumer advocacy groups that have expressed support for the bill.