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EU Demands Explicit Geo-Location Permissions

Posted by timothy on from the ooh-baby-tell-me-exactly-where dept.

judgecorp writes "Apple, Google and employers are already contravening new European Union rules that will require companies to get explicit permission from users before any geo-location data can be used to track them, whether for the purposes of targeted advertising or monitoring employee behavior. This could be the start of the next big privacy argument. The hopes of companies planning to use geo-location data to push products and services to mobile device users have taken a beating in the European Union, following a pronouncement from the European Data Protection Supervisor, Peter Hustinx."

6 of 69 comments (clear)

  1. yea fuktard. by unity100 · · Score: 5, Informative

    because eu + legislation is bad, people in europe have higher health standards, quality standards, and standard of living than the rest of the world.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Development_Index

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    Read radical news here
  2. Already in Android? by AmiMoJo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    When you install an Android app it asks for permission if it wants to use your location data. Isn't that exactly what they are asking for?

    Android itself asks for permission the first time you use the phone.

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    const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
    SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    1. Re:Already in Android? by captainpanic · · Score: 4, Insightful

      There are always companies that are one step ahead of regulations. For example companies that are cleaner than strictly necessary.
      Still, it's a good idea to have the regulations to protect citizens / consumers.

      The fact that some companies already ask for consent now shows that this new regulations are totally reasonable.

  3. Re:Nice - this is going to be fun to watch by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    i can put your mind at rest concerning the truck drivers: trip recorders are mandatory for trucks and have been for decades (at least in Germany, but i'm pretty sure that this is an EU directive). police are allowed to check these anytime. these recorders do not store any geo data, but speed and driver working hours.

  4. Wanted: words with whiskers... by AliasMarlowe · · Score: 5, Informative

    When you install an Android app it asks for permission if it wants to use your location data. Isn't that exactly what they are asking for?

    It's something, but it's not enough merely to say that it needs to access item X. The legislation requires that it also say what item X will be used for, and in an informative way. The consent given must be "specific and informed" in each case. Moreover, it was stated that "consent cannot be obtained freely through mandatory acceptance of general terms and conditions, nor through opt-out possibilities" which blows a hole in many of the current slimy practices involving EULAs and suchlike, or defaulting to opt-in.

    Producing weasel words which look just enough like informing the customer, but without really doing so (or preferably cunningly misinforming or misleading the customer into complacency), is a skill which will likely be in greater demand.

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    Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
  5. Next step - repeal the data retention directive? by Jeppe+Salvesen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Good move, EU. Now you just gotta repeal the data retention directive, and then you'll regain some credibility on privacy matters!

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    Stop the brainwash