`Stalking` Applications Could Be Marked As Illegal in US

A Senate Judiciary Committee sanctioned Senator Al Franken`s bill that restricts location tracking via mobile devices.

The Location Privacy Protection Act would set outside the law any company selling applications that provide data on the device`s location to anyone other than the device owner. The bill deems as unacceptable apps that silently monitor a user`s location or share that location to a third party without the customer`s consent.

“I believe that Americans have the fundamental right to control who can track their location, and whether or not that information can be given to third parties,” Franken told The Hill. “But right now, companies ” some legitimate, some sleazy ” are collecting your or your child`s location and selling it to ad companies or who knows who else.”

The senator believes that restricting access to this kind of information may have a huge impact on people`s safety, protecting them from stalkers or abusive spouses, apart from protecting them from harassment by “sleazy” ad companies.

Parents monitoring their` children phones are treated as an exception to this rule.

US Senator Chuck Grassley showed support towards the bill and its main directive ” to sanction stalking applications – but expressed serious concern that the act might end up hindering “commercial innovations.”