The Context project was very fun for me because it investigates an issue that I personally connect with. Although this paper has lots of areas for improvement, I still learned many skills on how to write a research paper. This paper also built a foundation for the later AP project.
Otherside of Technology: Location Privacy at Risk
Imagine a society where everyone’s location is secretly tracked and the data is gathered. Our society today actually mirrors this hypothetical situation. Smart devices have provided many benefits to the consumers, such as simple social interaction, fast transmission of information, and easy navigation. However, consumers usually don’t realize that all of these actions can generate location data. Location data is defined by the privacy advocacy organization FPF to be “information about how devices and people move through spaces over time” (Gray), and usually contains detailed information on the coordinates and time. (See Appendix A) Such data is often generated whenever a person makes a phone call, uses navigation applications, or even takes a picture. (Karanja) Some of the information is stored inside the phone, and some of this information is shared with the cell carrier companies and software companies. As companies realize the value and the possible profit that location data can provide, trading and analyses of data become more common, and the security of these data becomes at risk. Consumers whose locations are being constantly monitored are at risk for personal safety. In worse cases, the nation’s democracy and national security are being threatened.
When I was planning a visit to a museum a few months ago, I used the geographical navigation app Google Maps to check the whereabouts of this museum. As I opened the information page, Google Maps displayed a past timeline suggesting I visited the museum about 4 years ago. I was shocked to see my timeline recorded, and that was when I used another phone. In my memories, I never allowed Google to record my location constantly. Google Maps made it clear that the information is only private to me. But being watched by a smartphone still feels disturbing.
The technology of location tracking has developed ever since the first satellite was launched into space. Initially, this tech was developed for military purposes, dating back to “the early 1970s” (Mai), when “the DoD decided to use satellites to support their proposed navigation system.” (Mai) This was a crucial advancement as it provided a secure and precise way for the U.S. Navy’s ships to locate themselves in the ocean. As the technology became increasingly reliable and open to the public, a phone company by the name of Benefon developed “...the first mobile phone with GPS available to the commercial sector.” (Sullivan) This marked the start of GPS-enabled phones globally. Since then, more and more companies have joined the market with GPS and phones. Another company, SnapTrack, which also integrates GPS with cell phones, was “purchased by Qualcomm in 2000 for 1 billion.” (Brownell) Many consumers today are familiar with Qualcomm, as it is the few manufacturers of cell phone chips. Four years later, Qualcomm announced a new technology called assisted GPS, which allows “phones to use cellular signal in combination with GPS signal to locate the user to within feet of their actual location.” (Sullivan) This was a crucial step in the history of cell phone tracking because assisted GPS fundamentally combined the two most common location tracking devices on cell phones and enhanced this technology. Cell signals’ disclosure actually dates back further than GPS. In 1994, FCC asked mobile carriers to “find ways for emergency services to locate mobile 911 callers”, and the “companies choose to use their cellphone towers to comply.” (Brownell) The ruling of the FCC marked the first sharing of cellphone data, and officially started the trend of cell phone tracking. Just as many technological advancements, GPS and cell signals were used on the premises of helping others and would later develop into profit-seeking methods for companies.
Over the years, several technologies was used together to determine the location of users. GPS is the most direct form of location data. Its data is combined with information from cell towers. Mobile carriers are able to find out one’s location because “they know which cell towers the devices connect with.” (Gray) According to Gray, there are even unique IDs “associated with mapped locations of known cell towers.” This means that not only certain apps can track one’s location, but mobile carriers can also do the same, suggesting that an individual’s location may be monitored by more than one company and on a multitude of levels. Another technology used to pinpoint one’s location: is wi-fi networks. Similar to cell towers, wi-fi networks also have a unique identifiers such as MAC addresses and SSID. (See Appendix B) Gray points out the presence of “large databases exist of the unique identifiers of wireless routers and their known location.” This is another widely adopted technology that can reveal the location of specific individuals and yet is relied upon by almost every smart-device user.
Utilizing these technologies, firms are able to record their users’ daily activity through numerous methods and sometimes even disguise themselves. Google Maps, being a popular application, has the option to turn off location history. However, Google still “automatically stores time-stamped location data without asking.” (Nakashima) and “stores a snapshot of [users’ location when they] merely open its Maps app.” (Nakashima) This is a clear violation of one’s personal privacy, as using a company’s service does not necessarily mean that the user’s location must be shared, not to mention the action of recording was done without consent. According to Nakashima, Google also records users’ location through “Web and App Activity”. Google essentially is creating a fog that prevents users from easily getting control of their own data. In fact, Google at least shows the users its usage of location data, while some other apps completely ignore the will of consumers. In a study of seventeen apps done by the New York Times, “just three on iOS and one on Android told users … that the [location] information could be used for advertising.” (Harris) Obviously, most software companies do not value customers’ permission and privacy, while turning this information into benefits for themselves.
Location data itself does not generate any value, but it can be used for advertising and customer profiling once analyzed by professional companies. To be specific, location data plays a key role in profiling individual consumers. A report by the New York Times found that location history has become “a way to customize apps and target ads for nearby businesses” and “could reveal a person’s preferences”. (Valentino-DeVries) A routinely visited place can be analyzed and then linked with either home, job, or other keywords that enhance the identification of each user. Location data might seem to be a less powerful indicator of one’s life when compared to search history and web activity, but the information it provides can still be used in advertising. One of the companies that benefit from this location-based advertising is Google. An article from the Associated Press discovers that Google allows its advertising partners to “track the effectiveness of online ads at driving foot traffic,” which is a technology that “relies on user location histories” and generated a revenue of “$95.4 billion”. (Nakashima) (See Appendix C) Such a huge revenue is obtained by sacrificing consumers' privacy, and it is hard to say that any company would reject an opportunity for this amount of money. As one of the industry giants, Google not only has a wide range of network services but also controls the development of the Android mobile phone system. Therefore, it is difficult for ordinary people to completely separate their lives from Google’s vast service, causing endless exploitation of location information.
Advertisements may not be necessarily considered as harm, but location data can be used to undermine national security. Location data, which provides users’ behaviors and habits, are analyzed with other consumer information such as age and gender to predict future behavior and even be used to influence future behavior. For example, a data analytic firm called Cambridge Analytica “combined personal user data obtained from a Facebook app developer … with data … from other sources, including location data, to compile profiles of voters around the world for the purpose of influencing elections using propaganda and direct marketing.” (Boshell) Former President Donald Trump also had connections with Cambridge Analytica to “identify target audiences for digital ads and model voter turnout.” (Amnesty) Location data is crucial in this example because an election is closely associated with the location of individuals. Having a massive location data database means firms are able to identify the major concerns of voters in terms of geographic location because voters of one area might have similar political focuses. Pairing with advertisements that address this concern or attacking the opposition’s standpoint on the issue can all become ways to influence a campaign. Voters who are constantly exposed to one party’s argument may be blinded and unaware of the entire situation, creating biases and even a split in different populations Most importantly, such action not only can be done by political candidates but also can be done by foreign powers trying to sway an election. This is a threat to democracy and may evolve into a threat to national security.
While the advancement of location-based services has brought many benefits to society. It also breeds greed, and unethical company practices, and entails destructive powers to the stability of a country. When a technology’s existence has deviated from its initial purpose, problems would arise in many areas. To create a balance between convenience and privacy, and to reduce the harm of location tracking, there need to be efforts from both the consumers and the companies.
Work Cited
Boshell, By: Paige M. “The Power of Place: Geolocation Tracking and Privacy.” Business Law Today from ABA, American Bar Association, 27 Mar. 2019, https://businesslawtoday.org/2019/03/power-place-geolocation-tracking-privacy/.
Brownell, Brett. “The 2,000-Year History of GPS Tracking.” Mother Jones, Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 15 Apr. 2014, https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/04/you-are-here-book-hiawatha-bray-gps-navigation/.
Gray, Stacy. “A Closer Look at Location Data: Privacy and Pandemics.” Future of Privacy Forum, 25 Mar. 2020, https://fpf.org/blog/a-closer-look-at-location-data-privacy-and-pandemics/.
Karanja, Alice; Engels, Daniel W.; Zerouali, Ghizlane; and Francisco, Ariel (2018) "Unintended Consequences of Location Information: Privacy Implications of Location Information Used in Advertising and Social Media," SMU Data Science Review: Vol. 1: No. 3, Article 13.
Johnson, Joseph. “Google: AD Revenue 2001-2020.” Statista, Third Door Media, 7 Feb. 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/266249/advertising-revenue-of-google/.
Mai, Thui. “Global Positioning System History.” NASA, NASA, 5 May 2015, https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/scan/communications/policy/GPS_History.html.
Nakashima, Ryan. “AP Exclusive: Google Tracks Your Movements, like It or Not.” AP NEWS, Associated Press, 13 Aug. 2018, https://apnews.com/article/north-america-science-technology-business-ap-top-news-828aefab64d4411bac257a07c1af0ecb.
Surveillance Giants - Amnesty International USA. Amnesty International, https://amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Surveillance-Giants-Embargo-21-Nov-0001-GMT-FINAL-report.pdf.
Thompson, Stuart A., and Charlie Warzel. “Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 19 Dec. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/12/19/opinion/location-tracking-cell-phone.html
Valentino-devries, Jennifer, et al. “Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They're Not Keeping It Secret.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Dec. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/10/business/location-data-privacy-apps.html.