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24 September 2004 Location services and you Location services work by identifying the physical location of a mobile phone or other mobile device. This could be your own mobile phone or the mobile phone of a relative, friend or work colleague. A wide range of new services are possible using location services including telling you how to get to the nearest cash machine or chemist; allowing a parent to identify the location of his or her child; making it easier for friends to meet up for an evening out; and assisting firms with the security of lone workers. All location services are subject to the legal requirements of the Data Protection Act. For consumers this means that location information can be used only after consent is provided by the user of the phone being located. For business users employers must explain to their employees how location information will be used before it is collected. The Data Protection Act requires that customers are made aware of: who their location service company is; the purposes for which personal data - including location information - will be collected and processed; whether data will be sent to a third party for the purpose of providing the location service and length of time for processing data, including storage, will be. In addition to data protection legislation, participants in the UK location services industry - including both location service providers and mobile phone operators - have agreed a Code of Practice for the provision of location services. This Code of Practice sets out additional requirements for different types of location services. This includes requirements relating to: registration of individuals and organisations using location information; provision of reminders on location services operating on a mobile phone; how customers can stop a locating service which is running on their phone; and responsibilities of a locating business or other organisation. While details vary, all location services depend on the disclosure of where you are to companies or to other individuals. This offers you significant opportunities to use new services. However, these services should be used with the same care as you would take in telling other people your location in a phone call or SMS. Further, unlike a phone call or SMS, they can provide information on your location over a period of time. Only consent to the use of your location information if you would be willing to provide the same company or individual with details of where you are in a phone call or SMS. Be aware that your consent may apply for a period of time. Don’t forget that you can withdraw your consent to being located at any time. If you have any concerns about your safety which relate to the operation of any location service then you should contact your location service company. If you have immediate safety concerns then you should, as in other circumstances, contact the police by dialling 999 or 112. If a user of a location service believes that the industry Code of Practice are being breached by the location service provider, he or she may contact the Mobile Broadband Group by e-mail at mobilebg@btopenworld.com or write to The Secretariat, Mobile Broadband Group, PO Box 34586, London SE15 5YA.

Statutory Instrument 2003 No. 2426 The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 Restrictions on the processing of location data 14. - (1) This regulation shall not apply to the processing of traffic data. (2) Location data relating to a user or subscriber of a public electronic communications network or a public electronic communications service may only be processed - (a) where that user or subscriber cannot be identified from such data; or (b) where necessary for the provision of a value added service, with the consent of that user or subscriber. (3) Prior to obtaining the consent of the user or subscriber under paragraph (2)(b), the public communications provider in question must provide the following information to the user or subscriber to whom the data relate - (a) the types of location data that will be processed; (b) the purposes and duration of the processing of those data; and (c) whether the data will be transmitted to a third party for the purpose of providing the value added service. (4) A user or subscriber who has given his consent to the processing of data under paragraph (2)(b) shall - (a) be able to withdraw such consent at any time, and (b) in respect of each connection to the public electronic communications network in question or each transmission of a communication, be given the opportunity to withdraw such consent, using a simple means and free of charge. (5) Processing of location data in accordance with this regulation shall - (a) only be carried out by - (i) the public communications provider in question; (ii) the third party providing the value added service in question; or (iii) a person acting under the authority of a person falling within (i) or (ii); and (b) where the processing is carried out for the purposes of the provision of a value added service, be restricted to what is necessary for those purposes.