Several complaints received by the National Data Protection Commission (CNPD) led the entity to proceed with an assessment of the geolocation services provided by mobile telecommunications operators. At issue may be the protection of personal data and the right to a private life reserve.
CNPD’s objective is to issue a global opinion, with a legal and technical framework, in a decision that should be made public by July 2011, a source from the Commission told Correio da Manhã.
Among the complaints that reached the CNPD are complaints from unions, which accuse employers of controlling employees. One of the cases, which resulted in the dismissal of an employee, is still in court.
According to a CNPD source, until a few years ago, requests for geolocation authorization were scarce and arrived essentially from freight companies. With the «massification of cases», with the most varied purposes and technologies, on mobile phones and vehicles, CNPD understood that it should assess the situation and deliberate on the matter.
Currently, geolocation tools allow you to «follow the trail» of a child or other family members, an employee, etc., it is enough to join the service. Mobile operators guarantee that users’ privacy «is safeguarded, because only mobile phones with the authorization of the owner» can be located.
