THE UNITED STATES Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has asked Apple and Google to attend its location tracking forum.
The FCC made the request for the geolocation data harvesters Apple and Google to join its location tracking forum, which will be held in June. This is the first time the FCC has held a forum to discuss the abuse of location tracking and, according to Reuters, the FCC is calling the event a "public education forum" about the pitfalls and benefits of location based tracking.
An unnamed Reuters source at the FCC said that location based tracking does have benefits. However, it is wary that users and digital rights organisations aren't kept in the loop on how personal data is collected and what happens to it once companies have collected it.
"While the use of location data has spurred innovation, the FCC's National Broadband Plan recognises that consumer apprehension about privacy can also act as a barrier to the adoption and utilisation of broadband and mobile devices," the FCC said in a statement.
So who better to invite to the forum than Apple and Google? Both companies have been in the media spotlight for accidentally harvesting personal data on their respective hardware and software.
Shiny toy vendor Apple has a location data 'bug' in IOS such that its Iphone was recording punters WiFi data. Google's Android OS was collecting location data and the company was globally reprimanded for sucking up personal data in its Streetview cars from unencrypted WiFi networks.
The FCC move comes as both the US and the EU are cracking down on data abuse by technology companies.
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