[IP] California assemblywoman wants to regulate car rental GPS tracking [priv]
Delivered-To: dfarber+@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 11:48:27 -0400
From: Declan McCullagh <declan@xxxxxxxx>
We covered this on Politech in 2001:
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02238.html
Turner's really suing Acme Rent-A-Car on Whalley Avenue in New Haven
for cozying up with Big Brother. He's trying to recoup a $450 charge
for allegedly speeding on his way to Virginia in an Acme minivan. The
van was equipped with a Global Positioning System, or GPS, which
transmits data via satellite. It clocked him "going at speeds in
excess of 90 mph on three separate occasions," according to court
papers. The internal device did, but the cops didn't.
-Declan
---
http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-insider4apr04,1,1917817.column
April 4, 2004
Jane Engle:
Travel Insider
When you rent a car, does the company secretly track you?
Some vehicles are 'bugged' without the driver's knowledge. A California
bill would require notification.
If you care about your privacy or your pocketbook, ask whether your rental
car has electronic tracking equipment and what it's used for. The answers
may surprise you ? if you can get them.
Since I last wrote about this issue in 2002, more rental cars have been
fitted with such systems, which can instantly relay information on your
car's speed, route and position to the rental company. This is done by
wireless devices and Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers that
pinpoint location. Rental companies say they use the devices mainly to
track stolen vehicles.
A flurry of lawsuits two years ago accused a Budget Rent a Car licensee in
Tucson of using such a system to covertly track renters who took cars out
of state and to fine them thousands of dollars. Earlier, another rental
company in New Haven, Conn., allegedly tracked renters who drove faster
than 79 mph and fined them.
[...]
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