Satellite Tracking and the Right to Privacy

Authors

Aaron Renenger

Abstract

The proliferation of location services brought on by technology like the Global Positioning System promises to bring new convenience to our lives. But this new technology also brings with it an all-toofamiliar problem-how to ensure personal privacy. Some consumer advocates have referred to the technology as "digital dog tags" and warned that location information will be sold to third parties such as aggressive advertisers or employers. This Note concludes that the torts that currently protect privacy offer very little protection to consumers whose location information is misused by third parties. Further, recent legislation passed to protect the privacy of consumer information, including location data, has met with resistance by the location-information industry. This Note ends by proposing the creation of a new privacy tort-both to protect consumers and ensure the proliferation of positioning technology.

Recommended Citation

Aaron Renenger, Satellite Tracking and the Right to Privacy, 53 Hastings L.J. 549 (2002).
Available at: https://repository.uclawsf.edu/hastings_law_journal/vol53/iss2/5