Re: Cellphone / GPS tracking services ... big brother, or mom, or wife ... is watching

kashe_at_sonic.net
Date: 01/05/05 

Date: Wed, 05 Jan 2005 09:52:33 GMT

On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 14:07:39 -0500, JGS <jgs123@comcast^dot^net>
wrote:

>On Sun, 02 Jan 2005 13:25:14 -0500, Alan Browne
><alan.browne@FreeLunchVideotron.ca> wrote:
>
>>JohnF wrote:
>>
>>> "Alan Browne" <alan.browne@FreeLunchVideotron.ca> wrote in message
>>> news:TMBBd.21270$I81.606518@wagner.videotron.net...
>>>
>>>>JohnF wrote:
>>>>
>>>>"yet another one of these threads" you say? Every time there is a change
>>>>("progress") in the area of GPS+|cell based tracking, the issue SHOULD
>>>>come up. It should always be questioned.
>>>
>>>
>>> Ok. So this has been questioned to death since cell phones have been around.
>>> What's the answer? The point being that there hasn't been a fundamental
>>> change in cell based tracking. It's the same question over and over with the
>>> same paranoia and the same mis-understanding that this is something new.
>>
>>Nextel are now in the business of selling tracking information. Their web site
>>says it can be sold, for example, to companies to track their employees
>>whereabouts. I can see many benefits from logistical to verification. I can
>>see abuse too.
>>
>>Let's say your lovely and attractive wife works for company C as a project
>>manager and she has to drive or travel around to several job sites, suppliers
>>and to the customers offices. C has three employees who coordinate logistics
>>for employees as well as monitor worker compiance. Your wife, as a fast track
>>manager with a VP title in her near future, is not subject to hour to hour
>>supervision. But, the company has automated tracking of all their supplied cell
>>phones. Now let's say there is some guy at the company who gets ideas about
>>your wife. Let's say he has access to the tracking data.
>>
>>I'll let you fill in the blanks.
>>
>>A Hollywood gorefest motion picture in the making.
>>
>>Cheers,
>>Alan
>
>Having been in upper management for a major international engineering
>company and for the past 12 years the owner of my own engineering company,
>from my experience I can say I have met people in management positions that
>would possibly abuse the data as you suggest.
>
>Company politics at the higher management level was the spur that got me to
>start my own company.
>
>Though all of my employees have Internet access and some have company issued
>cell phones, I am still of the old fashioned view that my people are
>professionals and are self regulating. I'll not ever monitor Internet or
>cell phone usage.
>
>It is interesting to see the trend that implies distrust of one's employees.
>I don't like it.
>
>Thanks for posting the information on Nextel.

        I certainly applaud your trust in your employees, but, being
in the IT industry, I know there is strong pressure brought upon
employers, by their legal departments, to at least assert a policy
that the company can monitor email and web browsing of employees. The
justification is that either can be used to create a "hostile work
environment" for which the employer could be found legally liable or
to communicate with outsiders in a way for which trhe employer might
become liable. So monitoring may easily be pushed into environments
where it would otherwise be unwelcome.

>
>Regards
>JGS

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