Intro to Concerns About Cell Phone Tracking
Although there are many advantages to cell phone GPS tracking there are also privacy concerns. As most people carry their cell phone with them at all times, the ability is in place to track the exact movements of all individuals. Is this a case of Big
Brother, and who can access to this information?
Cell Phone GPS tracking can prove useful in many walks of life and especially when an emergency arises. Picture the scene of a road accident where injuries have occurred. A 911 call made from a GPS cell phone would significantly speed up the arrival of the emergency services if the GPS signal from the cell phone can be pin-pointed to an exact location. This feature alone could save many lives.
For these reasons the FCC has instructed that wireless network providers provide the cell phone GPS tracking location
information for 911 calls which have been made from cell phones. This is known as E911. In essence this is no different than a
911 call made from a land line, as the land line is registered to an address and the relevant emergency services can be quickly
dispatched to that address.