By 2005, it is expected that there will be 1.6 billion wireless devices worldwide bundled with an endless number of services from location-based advertisements to interactive banking. The proliferation of mobile communications is heightening concerns about privacy.

The new technologies that are being deployed for Enhanced 911 service, where a 911 caller using their cellphone can be located within 50 to 100 meters, is giving birth to a host of commercial applications. Thus, through both network and handset-based technology, a subscriber can access location-based services such as driving directions, local news and weather, and traffic delays and updates, based on their whereabouts. Similarly, through location-based systems, Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) have the potential to make it possible for traffic management agencies to know where individuals travel, what routes they take, and travel duration, according to the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Privacy groups like the Center for Democracy and Technology are urging the FCC and legislators to clarify an amendment to a 1999 wireless location ruling in which Congress required consumers to opt-in before service providers could reuse or disclose location information.

Recently North Carolina Senator John Edwards introduced a bill that would make wireless service providers tell subscribers when they are tracking their location. The Senator said, "If you have a cellphone, somebody knows where you are at all times. This bill is designed to make sure no one misuses your personal information."

The Center strongly believes that location-based services could pervade an individual’s everyday activities while exposing them to substantial physical harm if abused, leading to surveillance and stalking of individuals.

The implementation of coherent privacy regulations will help ensure innovation and growth of location-products and services, the Center says.