PHILADELPHIA (KYW) It is 11 o'clock
and your teen is not home. The following day your co-worker
is late for an important meeting. They could be anywhere
but you can find them with location-finding phones.
Ukee Washington has details on tracking technology.
Such technology is exploding onto the market. In fact,
by next year alone an estimated 42 million Americans
will be able to say: "I know where you are!"
Nikki and Tom Pratt don't need to worry about where
their children might be anymore.
"I can just, at any time, see where they are,"
she stated, adding "What I like best is peace of
mind. I'm comfortable, I know where they are."
How? Their kids carry cell phones equipped with the
latest technology. Using a satellite driven service
called uLocate they can see their kids' exact location
on a cell phone screen or computer map.
"I know if I forget to call them, they at least
they know where I am," said their son Jason.
AT&T Wireless has a similar service called "Find
Friends." It lets you dial up the general whereabouts
of other users but the system isn't based on satellite
information. It uses cell tower location.
Travis Larson represents the Cellular Telecommunications
& Internet Association: "So far, they're proving
popular with families, with people who may want to know
where they are in an emergency."
Parents aren't the only ones interested in this service.
Businesses are getting in on the action and some privacy
experts like Chris Hoofnagle of the Electronic Privacy
Information Center worry about how the technology could
be used by law enforcement, angry spouses, and even
marketers.
"You could walk by a coffee store and that coffee
store might be able to send you a text message and it
might say, '30- percent off coffee if you come in right
now.' But, you can imagine what this could be like on
a broader scale," he explained.
There are no government guidelines for tracking cell
phones but companies say they do take privacy seriously.
With uLocate, your phone shows you when you're being
tracked and at AT&T you must give permission to
allow someone to find you.
(MMIV, CBS Broadcasting Inc., All Rights Reserved.)
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