Mobile phone tracking services which allow parents to monitor their children's whereabouts may be illegal, the Office of the Ombudsman for Data Protection has warned. One firm, Top Security, is planning to offer parents mobile phone surveillance of their children from next month.
Stalking, harassment and the intrusion of estranged parents on children without the other parent's knowledge are possible abuses of mobile phone tracking, said SeáSweeney, senior compliance officer with the Office of the Ombudsman for Data Protection.
Mr Sweeney has written to the Ombudsman for Children expressing his concern that children's rights could be violated by the service.
Under data protection legislation anyone whose mobile phone is being monitored via satellite location systems must consent, but children under the age of 14 and possibly even 16 may be unable to comprehend the issues involved. There was a real danger that parents would pressure children into consenting, Mr Sweeney said.
"This is a grey area, there are many issues that might arise and a lot to be discussed before Toplocate [the Top Security service] can proceed," Mr Sweeney said.
Mr Sweeney has written to Top Security to express his office's concern that the company would breach data protection legislation if it went ahead. But when contacted by The Irish Times, Top Security said it had not yet received his letter and was still proceeding with plans to launch Toplocate.
Toplocate will offer parents the ability to track their children's mobile phones down to within a street on a website map. It will cost €100 per year.
