Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Finland Considers Tracking Children Wirelessly

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2003 13:42:04 -0400

Finland Considers Tracking Children Wirelessly

Finland is considering a law that would allow parents to track their children via
wireless phones. The proposed law does not require consent and could be a
benchmark for privacy and wireless device use in the European Union. The proposal
is part of a law on privacy in electronic communications and was accepted by the
government unanimously this week. The Parliament expects to begin debate on the
new law in early November.

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 Finns Ready Law for Tracking Young Cellphone Users
 Fri October 17, 2003 08:49 AM ET

 HELSINKI (Reuters) - Finland has proposed a new law that would let parents track
the
 movements of their young children via mobile phone, even without their consent,
in a move
 that could set an EU benchmark in privacy and handset use.

 The proposal is part of new law on privacy in electronic communications and could
still be
 changed in parliament hearings, although the Nordic country's coalition
government
 accepted it unanimously this week.

 Parliament will likely start discussing the proposal early in November, but state
officials and
 politicians said it was too early to estimate when the law could be passed.

 "Roughly similar legislation will be a reality in the European Union area in the
near future,"
 said Juhapekka Ristola, an official at the transport and communications ministry.

 He said other countries may follow the example of Finland, home to the world's
largest
 mobile phone maker Nokia, because the proposal is based on the EU's directive on
privacy
 and electronic communications.

 According to the draft, individuals aged 15 or older could only be tracked after
giving their
 consent, but for children under 15 such consent could also be given by their
parents or
 guardians.

 In emergency situations people can still be tracked without their consent
regardless of their
 age.

 Finland's top two mobile operators, TeliaSonera and Elisa, currently offer
positioning
 services which locate the phone user based on the mobile base station he or she
is nearest
 to.

 TeliaSonera says the positioning works from between 100 meters (yards) in
congested
 areas to 20 km (12 miles) in less populated areas.

 Finland is a world leader in mobile technology, and last February topped the
World Economic
 Forum's list as the most tech-savvy country in the world.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3635840

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