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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congress is considering measures to protect cell phone users from location-tracking technology that some are calling the next "Big Brother."

Legislation introduced this week would let consumers choose whether they want their location to be monitored through their mobile communication devices, such as cell phones, pagers, Palm devices, and global positioning systems. The bill was introduced by Senator John Edwards, D-North Carolina.

The FCC has ordered mobile services providers to enable location-identification for emergency (911) calls. But Edwards's bill is intended to protect consumers from marketers who want to track your whereabouts and sell the information without permission.

"If you have a cell phone in your pocket or OnStar in your car, somebody knows where you are at all times," Edwards says. "This bill is designed to make sure no one misuses your personal information."

The bill requires wireless services to notify subscribers when the service tracks their location, and prohibits service providers from disclosing or selling the data without getting customer consent. Consumers would have the right to review the information before services could release it, and they could correct any errors.

Technology Varies

A representative of OnStar, maker of a global positioning device that can track a car's location, takes issue with Edwards's description of its technology. Debbie Frakes, OnStar's vice president of communications, calls his characterization "ludicrous."

OnStar, which has more than 1 million subscribers, can pinpoint your location only if you press a button or are in an accident when the airbag is deployed, Frakes says.

Other mobile tracking devices include Airbiquity's global positioning system, which attaches to cell phones. As with OnStar, pressing a button activates the system.

The technology that supports location tracking can also provide consumer safeguards. SignalSoft, which markets location-tracking technology to carriers and other service providers, also makes a tool called Access Manager. Using it, a carrier can give customers a way to review the information gathered about them and to give specific services permission to send location-based information.

However, SignalSoft could not confirm that any of the U.S. carriers that license its technology will also install the Access Manager. SignalSoft's technology is being used by several European services, including one that points to the nearest restaurant or shortest ski lift line at a Swiss resort.

Support Likely

Technology policy analysts expect Edwards's bill to get wide support in the Senate but are unsure how quickly it will move through Congress.

The legislation is a first step toward protecting cell phone users from being tracked by companies hungry to make some extra money, says Ari Schwartz, associate director for the Center for Democracy and Technology, a group that promotes civil liberties on the Internet.

"The legislation is important because it's forward-looking in terms of insuring a marketplace for the new wireless tools so they don't become digital dog tags, tracking individuals wherever they go," Schwartz says. He adds that he has heard no vocal opposition to date.

The bill's language may need to be clarified before it passes, notes David Sobel, the Electronic Privacy Information Center's general counsel.

The section permitting consumers to decide whether they want their locations disclosed is too vague and could lead to sketchy fine print, Sobel warns. He also questions the bill's definition of "consent," saying the legislation's broad wording could lead to "a lot of mischief."

"It really comes down to details and making sure consumers are given meaningful and easy-to-use control of information," Sobel says.

Service providers and vendors are also watching the legislation. Travis Larson, representing the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, declined to comment because he hadn't yet read the proposal. But he says cellular privacy is a primary issue for his organization, which represents the interests of wireless companies and Internet service providers, including OnStar, America Online, and Sprint PCS.

"The wireless industry only makes money when people have their phones on," Larson says. "If people are constantly being spammed on their cell phones, then they are going to turn them off."

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