Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Location privacy bill reintroduced in Senate, (Mar 31, 2014)

The proposed Location Privacy Protection Act (S. 2171)—an updated version of a bill that cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2012—was introduced on March 27 and referred to the Judiciary Committee.

The legislation would require companies to obtain permission before collecting location data from smartphones, tablets, and in-car navigation devices and before sharing such information with other parties. It would also require any company collecting location data from 1,000 or more devices to post online the kinds of data collected, the way the data is shared and used, and how people can stop the collection or sharing. The measure would ban the sale of “GPS stalking apps,” authorize the seizure of funds from the sale of such apps to be used for anti-stalking efforts, and require the federal government to gather more information on GPS stalking, facilitate the reporting of GPS stalking, and prioritize training grants for law enforcement personnel.

The bill is sponsored by Senator Al Franken (D, Minn.) and co-sponsored by Senators Chris Coons (D, Del.) and Elizabeth Warren (D, Mass.). The legislation has the support of leading consumer and anti-domestic violence groups. Text of the bill is not yet available.

News: Privacy ConsumerProtection