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EU: The Article 29 Working Party has recently adopted an Opinion (pdf) on the extensive privacy obligations of 'smart mobile device' operators with regard to geolocation

01 May 2011

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EU: The Article 29 Working Party has recently adopted an Opinion (pdf) on the extensive privacy obligations of 'smart mobile device' operators with regard to geolocation:

"Since smartphones and tablet computers are inextricably linked to their owner, the movement patterns of the devices provide a very intimate insight into the private life of the owners. One of the great risks is that the owners are unaware they transmit their location, and to whom. Another, related, risk is that the consent for certain applications to use their location data is invalid, because the information about the key elements of the processing is incomprehensible, outdated or otherwise inadequate."

The conclusions note specifically the EU data protection directive (link), currently under review by the Commission, is the legal framework applicable to geolocation data from smart mobile devices:

"Location data from smart mobile devices are personal data. The combination of the unique MAC address and the calculated location of a WiFi access point should be treated as personal data"

Press coverage: Location data should qualify as personal data, watchdogs say (out-law.com, link): "Geolocation information on where a person has been should qualify as personal data and be protected by EU data protection laws, a European data protection group has said. It said that users should be asked to consent to every new use of the data."

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