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My understanding is that thanks to E911 your precise location is tracked, and that's the information that mobile phone network operators provide to law enforcem
by exhilaration 9y ago
My understanding is that thanks to E911 your precise location is tracked, and that's the information that mobile phone network operators provide to law enforcement through their location portals:
... web portal that Sprint provides law enforcement to conduct automated “pings” to track users. Through the website, authorized agents can type in a mobile phone number and obtain global positioning system (GPS) coordinates of the phone.
From: https://www.wired.com/2009/12/gps-data/ https://www.wired.com/2009/12/gps-data/
- dingaling 9y agoI think that's just a misuse of GPS as a substitute term for 'high-precision' location, probably from cell tower data. There is a common misconception that GPS is some sort of surveillance system that can return the position of a receiver.
- khedoros1 9y agoApparently, E911 is just the technology that delivers a location to the emergency call center. Collecting data about the actual location is just a range specification: https://www.fcc.gov/general/enhanced-9-1-1-wireless-services https://www.fcc.gov/general/enhanced-9-1-1-wireless-services They allow network-based location (like signal triangulation), where the location needs to be withing 100 meters for 67 percent of calls and 300 meters for 95 percent of the calls, and handset-based navigation (like GPS) where it has to be within 50 meters for 67% of calls, and within 150 meters for 90% of calls. Within those guidelines, I think that the phone provider can propose methods to use and have them approved by the FCC. But I guess whether your "precise" location gets tracked depends on the level of precision you're thinking of.