Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce much-needed legislation to protect the privacy of consumers who use technologies that can pinpoint their location. Under my bill, the Location Privacy Protection Act, any company that monitors consumers' physical location will be prohibited from using or disclosing that information without express permission from the consumer. And third parties that gain access to the information cannot use or disclose it without the individual's permission first. Within the next few years, new technologies will allow companies to know our location any time of day or night. Our cell phones, pagers, cars, palm pilots and other devices will enable companies to constantly track where we go and how often we go there. These services can have enormous advantages. For example, public safety and rescue teams can save lives with systems that enable them to quickly locate crash victims. Imagine being able to ask your cell phone for directions to the nearest Italian restaurant. Or imagine you are traveling in a new city and your pager alerts you when you are within a block of your favorite coffee shop, which happens to be running a sale on coffee. The possibilities for location-based services and application are endless. But these new technologies also raise serious privacy issues.”