D11.2: Mobility and LBS

Title: STRUCTURE AND CONTENT

Structure and Content

Some years ago, the ability of user tracking and tracing was a privilege of governments and extremely determined and resourceful private parties, but nowadays mobility and LBS play an increasing role in everybody’s life. The technologies that are described in Chapter 5.1 (network-internal positioning methods) are a result of the technological developments necessary to enable mobile communication services. Especially the cell architecture of the communication networks allows to identify and to localise single users. Thus, the ability of network-internal positioning is in the hands of a few market players per country.  

Tracking and tracing using network-internal technologies can be understood as a by-product of providing mobile telephony and data services. But network external positioning methods also gain additional attention. Mobile devices are increasingly featured with modules that allow the use of network-external information sources like GPS, Bluetooth or W-LAN to determine their position.  

Following up on the new technological opportunities, new economies and products appear on the horizon: New entertainment services like mobile friend finders (cf. Chapter 3.2) or mobile social communities provide new dimensions of human interaction. But LBS also influence the efficiency of classical value chains and the identity of their employees as it is shown e.g. in Scenario 3: Tracking in the Working Context (cf. Chapter 3.3). Chapter 4 has shown that LBS can have major impact on the mobile identities and that the control of the mobile identities can depend on the properties of the LBS. 

Tracking and tracing is becoming more and more a commercial product. The providers of such services are obliged to fulfil the legal requirements with regard to the users’ privacy. Although many data protection aspects are covered by the European data protection laws the technical evolution comes along with an evolution of possible privacy threats (cf. Chapter 6), especially since the legislator can react solely to foreseen or already present situations. The responsibility for the users’ privacy and the protection of their identity thus rests also in the hand of the providers of LBS. A shift of responsibilities between public and private players with regard to data protection and identity management duties is possible. In this situation, the ability of users’ to control their privacy and identity is a major aspect.  

The development of the new markets and products give reason to further observe the legal, the technological and the market situation that determine the further / future impact of LBS on users’ mobile identities.