Tracking your children via mobile phone may seem like a good idea, but how would you feel about being tracked?
02 already offers "location-based services" to employers who have workers on the road managing sites or working alone. Employers can be alerted when a mobile has left an area, and can view workers' locations via maps on the web.
Since 2003, when satellite tracking systems became available for civilian use, the mobile phone tracking business has grown in the UK. Verilocation has 60,000 subscribers, mainly small businesses who have tradesmen or sales staff on the road. Some businesses use the system in order to ensure the safety of staff, who may be working alone in potentially risky areas.
The civil rights group Liberty, based in the UK, believes that there are civil and human rights issues surrounding the use of tracking, particularly where the employee may feel pressured to submit to being monitored.
Digital Rights Ireland says that there are potential abuses of the system and that such a service would be in breach of the spirit and letter of the Data Protection Acts, which prevent personal private data being sold to a third party without the person's free and ongoing consent.