Senate Bill Requires Consent For iPhone, Android Location Data

The Apple and Google location tracking controversy may soon be fully addressed in legislation. Ever since news of Apple?fs unencrypted storage of location data on iPhones broke, Senators Al Franken and Richard Blumenthal have been hot on their tails, summoning both Apple and Google for congressional hearings on the matter. Now the duo are submitting a bill that would require explicit consent for location data.

The bill is called the ?gLocation Privacy Protection Act of 2011?? and hopes to close any loopholes in the current federal law regarding location privacy. The proposed law will apply to both device manufacturers and app developers for smartphones and tablets.

?gOur laws do too little to protect information on our mobile devices,?h Franken said in a statement. ?gGeolocation technology gives us incredible benefits, but the same information that allows emergency responders to locate us when we?fre in trouble is not necessarily information all of us want to share with the rest of the world. This legislation would give people the right to know what geolocation data is being collected about them and ensure they give their consent before it?fs shared with others.?h

However, Apple has insisted that they do not track their customers location, and have issued an iOS update that has addressed most of the concerns. Google also responded saying that they require consent for every location service and allows users to shut them off.