Wireless phones clearly have brought a dramatic freedom to modern life. But these omnipresent symbols of the communications revolution may be turned into tracking devices to locate their owners, in the process raising a vivid challenge to privacy. In a little-noticed effort, the Federal Communications Commission wants to make mobile phones disclose their locations when used to place emergency 911 calls, just like their wired counterparts. That would open the door to potentially widespread misuse by government and private industry, though the technology also has useful applications in helping find people who are lost or need assistance. The FCC gave law-enforcement authorities broader help in wiretapping new, digital phone networks, while a federal appeals court in Denver struck down restrictions on what personal information telephone companies can disclose concerning customers' billing records.
Some providers expect to do better.
Using either global positioning satellites or ground-based wireless antenna systems that take measurements to determine the phone user's position, some companies expect to be able to locate a phone to within a few feet. That capability should save lives, according to the FCC and public-safety officials. At present, when a 911 call is made from a wireless phone, emergency dispatchers generally get no information on where the caller is. If the caller is traveling in an unfamiliar area, or disoriented, the emergency response can be substantially delayed. Contrast that with a 911 call from a home or business telephone.