Privacy and ethical issues in location-based tracking systems

Abstract

Location-based tracking systems (LTSs) use a variety of technologies to record the locations of objects. An LTS can increase the risks to the privacy and security of individuals. Previous studies have failed to distinguish between losses and violations of privacy when the locations of individuals are recorded by an LTS. We argue that individual privacy is threatened not by the collection of public location information but by the centralization of aggregated information, and by the combination of location information with other personal information. Further, informed consent should be required when the collection of information might cause a violation of privacy.