GPS Legalities — Part 2

Recently I posted a very well-received article on the basics of using GPS to monitor employees. There is certainly a need for more information on this, including some of the “catch 22’s” that may result. From the number of searches I get daily looking for information on this subject there is no doubt the need is out there … and I fill needs.

Important Disclaimer:

I am not an attorney and I can not provide legal advice. This information is offered in good faith but with absolutely no assurance as to accuracy or applicability to your particular situation. If you need legal advice, you need an attorney. Use one.

With that out of the way I’ll make a general statement which is almost always true. people seem obsessed with the idea of GPS tracking and invasion of their privacy rights. Our privacy rights are important to all of us, and some of them are even guaranteed under the Constitution. But, in many cases, citizens perform acts that waive their rights to privacy, so you need to think things trough before you lose too much sleep over the evils of GPS tracking. These are just a few of the ways we give up privacy rights, knowingly or unknowingly:

• Employment: in consideration of your employer paying you wages you grant the employer the right to govern where and how you perform your work. If you don’t wish to give your employer a general waiver of where you are and what you are doing I would suggest you do something like becoming an independent contractor or gain some other self employed status. Using a GPS device to determine where you are is essentially no different from driving around and looking via the Mark I eyeball at your location and determining the time via a wind-up wrist watch. In some cases employees have successfully held that they had a certain privacy guarantee regarding their work … such as where they stop for lunch, etc., but in the overwhelming number of cases the court will hold that such privacy does not exist in an employee/employer relationship. You might like to read this fellow’s take on the value of a job, I find it very interesting. or this guy, Fred Reed, one of my personal heroes.
• Cell Phones: Have you got one? Do you know that the FCC requires your phone carrier to be able to locate you to within 125 meters? This applies to any phone, not just a later model with GPS. Do you know that law enforcement can track your cell phone location at any time, with court approval, and, increasingly they can track “general population” movements, such as getting a list of everyone in a sports stadium during a specific game even without a search warrant? Thought you didn’t. So if you are concerned about privacy you had better not carry a cell phone or any similar PDA, with or without a GPS feature.
• ALPR (Automated License Plate Recognition): I’ve written on this one before, here and here for a sample. Time and time again the courts have upheld the rights of police and sometimes even private citizens to monitor those engaged in public activities, such as driving their employee’s vehicle or a personal car or truck. Depending upon your state of residence and/or the state you are in at the moment, you give up a lot by getting a driver’s license and/or registering a car. ALPR takes the technology of digital cameras, computers and character recognition software to automate the process of recording people’s license plates and checking them against a database to new heights. 3,000 to even 6,000 plates per hour processing speeds are common … so better not drive, even without GPS, if you are really concerned about privacy.

As always, I welcome comments, disagreement is encouraged, and you can also email me direct at: davestarr (at) gmail (dot) com or call me on 1-719-423-8872. If you liked this article, please subscribe to my RSS feed so you get all my news and views.

And Have a Happy 4th!