WASHINGTON – Consumer protection and victims’ advocates testifying Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law endorsed legislation sponsored by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) to outlaw stalking apps, which abusers can put on victims' smartphones to secretly track their location. The Location Privacy Protection Act of 2014, introduced in March, would require companies to get consumers' permission before collecting location data off their smartphones, tablets, or in-car navigation devices like OnStar and Garmin. The bill would also require permission before sharing location information with third parties. 

In testimony before the Subcommittee, Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, noted that while federal laws exist to protect other types of sensitive consumer information, “there is no adequate legal framework protecting consumers’ location data.” Absent such a framework, “consumers must rely on businesses to adhere to often voluntary and inconsistently applied company policies and industry best practices,” Greenberg said.

The Location Privacy Protection Act “would help to restore consumer trust in location-based services and ensure that the many benefits of this technology continue to flow to consumers and the economy,” said Greenberg. “By prohibiting so-called ‘stalking apps,’ the law will appropriately outlaw a class of inherently deceptive and predatory applications that compromise the personal safety of domestic violence victims.”

Jessica Rich, Director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection called the bill “an important step forward” that requires “clear and accurate disclosures and opt-in consent from consumers before this sensitive data can be collected.”

Cindy Southworth, Vice President of Development and Innovation at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, noted the many positive ways that technology has contributed to the safety of and support for survivors of abuse and stalking. 

“The Location Privacy Protection Act of 2014 will narrowly impact a handful of bad actors that design or operate products created and sold to facilitate terrifying crimes,” Southworth said.

The Location Privacy Protection Act is built on similar legislation first introduced by Senators Coons and Franken in 2012, which passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support. Their updated legislation would:

  • Require that companies get individuals' permission before collecting location data off of their smartphones, tablets, or in-car navigation devices, and before sharing it with others. This rule doesn't apply to parents tracking kids, emergencies, and similar scenarios;
  • Stymie GPS stalking by preventing companies from collecting location data in secret;
  • Require that any company that collects the location data of 1,000 or more devices publicly disclose the data they're collecting, what they do with it, who they share it with, and how people can stop that collection or sharing;
  • Ban the development, operation, and sale of GPS stalking apps--and allow law enforcement to seize the proceeds of those sales to fund anti-stalking efforts; and
  • Require that the federal government gather more information about GPS stalking, facilitate reporting of GPS stalking, and prioritize training grants for law enforcement.

The bill has the support of the nation’s leading consumer and anti-domestic violence groups, including the National Center for Victims of Crime, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, the National Women’s Law Center, the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, Consumer Action, Consumers Union, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumers’ League, and the Online Trust Alliance.

A more detailed summary of the bill is available here.