China Beijing to Track Citizens Through Cell Phones

 

 

Chinese authorities in Beijing will track its citizens through phones, using location data from telecom China Mobile, in a bid to ease traffic congestion but raising privacy concerns over misuse.

Top News

College Offers Cell Phone Photography Class

Police, Prosecutors Scour Social Media for Evidence

Nearly 20 Percent Drive and Surf the Web

Nintendo Chief Warns of Smartphone Threat

AT&T Not Sweating Verizon IPhone

More News >

The project, called the "Beijing Residents Real-time Travel Information Platform," will aggregate information on mobile users' movements around the Beijing, including their time of departure, destination and means of transport. Municipal officials hope to use this information to understand population flow at different times of the day and in certain parts of the city.
Tests will take place in two highly-populated districts in June and the plan could go a long way towards redeeming Beijing's reputation as the worst traffic blackspot in the world. Last year, it notoriously suffered a nine-day, 62-mile-long traffic jam.
"By sending dynamic travel information to citizens, they can adjust their trip plan in downtown areas to effectively relieve traffic congestion," said Li Guo-guang, deputy director of the Commission. "It is also fairly beneficial for population management. Information obtained through the mobile phone location is more thorough in terms of figuring out the population of a certain dwelling district."
Authorities want to use population flow information to keep drivers and other commuters up to date about traffic jams, alternative routes and delayed trains. The Beijing Commission of Science and Technology, the agency behind the plan, also wants to use the information to develop more effective public transport and traffic management strategies, and identify infrastructure bottlenecks.
Location information from phones has proved a powerful, but controversial, tool. AT&T now uses location to push relevant advertising and special offers to interested users, and Loopt will launch a similar service soon. Those services are opt-in, but some apps have angered users by sending data like age, gender, location and the unique handset ID to advertisers without permission.
Commentators in China have raised concerns that the Communist regime could use the Beijing real-time tracking platform to follow protesters or dissidents. Other proposals to use cell phone tracking for social good have raised privacy concerns, including Bill Gates' suggestion that the technology be used to track babies who need vaccines.
Controversy is likely to follow location based services as users, service providers, and governments seek a balance between potentially useful functionality and privacy concerns.