Tech & Biz

UK Government Uncomfortable with Google Latitude

by Jordan Yerman | March 10, 2009 at 06:49 am

173 views | 22 Recommendations | 2 comments

Members of British Parliament signed an Early Day Motion which expressed concern over Google Latitude, which allows users to be tracked via their mobile phones. In other news, Britain, arguably the biggest surveillance state in the world, loses ownership of irony.

Google concerns aside, most modern spartphones are GPS-enabled anyway, and users simply don't know that they're being tracked. At least Latitude is opt-in.

For Britons without smartphones, well, they just have to watch out for the CCTV cameras on every streetcorner.

Google's Latitude is a feature of Mobile Maps, and allows one to share one's location with selected friends. Most concerns revolve around the premise that users might be "encouraged" to count their boss amongst those "friends", but the Early Day Motion is more specific in asking that the UK Government "examine the privacy implications of Google Latitude and to take action to ensure that Latitude does not represent a privacy threat".

Early Day Motions aren't actually debated, so this is really just an arched eyebrow on paper, but still I find the disconnect amusing.

So, in a nutshell:
Google Latitude = bad;
CCTV = smile pretty for the camera.

0 See all footage | View Slideshow

Share: email story | add to any | | facebook | stumbleupon

recommend This comment thread is now closed

Uwe Paschen

at 07:07 on March 10th, 2009

I am not sure what the UK government wants, since it is the worth example to be able to point fingers at any one. And yes at least with Google one has opted in for being followed.

A. Tran

at 14:07 on March 10th, 2009

That's a peculiar reaction to Google's Latitude since as your piece indicates, the UK routinely 'violates' their citizens' privacy with their CCTV anyway.