ENHANCED 911 CALLS, WHERE WILL IT ALL END? 2
In case of an emergency calls were made by pressing 911 on a land line ten and even twenty years ago. That call could be traced to the location of where the individual or incident took place. It was easy for the authorities and dispatchers to have a location of the emergency location. Now, lots of 911 calls are made by cell phones and with technology on the rise there is a need to locate a person or issue using mobile lines. Many may think it is an invasion of privacy, others may think it’s a great idea. This paper will delve into such notions to explore the outcomes.
Calls are traced to their location when they are made from a land line. However, cell phones are able to do the same. Based on research “Nowadays, between 30 percent and 50 percent of all 911 calls come from wireless phones, according to the Federal Communications Commission.” (Harris 2013, p. 2). Each year the percentile increases, so there is a need to access the individuals at the location or property of the incident or an accident. The power of tracking a person can be abused, to the point where it leads to a corrupt result. According to one source it could lead to “a world where our movements are tracked by the by hackers, stalkers, employers, insurers and the government.” (Harris 2013, p. 2). This can create mistrust.
Having too much information can be dangerous. If someone wanted to know another’s whereabouts, hack into their phone or download valuable information, this will give them the opportunity to do so. Identity theft will increase, as well as stolen information and secret passwords and codes. According to one source “the FCC regulations give the thriving market for personal information something it’s never had a chance to get: the exact locations at all times of more than 140 million people.” (Charny 2002, p. 1). This is very dangerous and there is no need for anyone to be tracked by random unknown people because it is an invasion of privacy.
ENHANCED 911 CALLS, WHERE WILL IT ALL END? 3
There are advantages and disadvantages to using cell phones and mobile devices to be located by authorities in times of a crisis. According to one author “Location awareness, the ability to determine geographical position, is an emerging technology with both significant benefits and important privacy implications” (Minch 2004, p. 1). For all the reasons mentioned so far the enhanced 911 service does raise new concerns about privacy. Invasion of privacy is more than just a form of disrespect. It also means that the rights of individuals will and have diminished as does the old laws that protected those rights.
If a random individual has the ability to tap into someone’s cell phone for example, they have access to many different things. Today mobile lines can go on to the internet, so they are able to see what we see. If a man choose to pay online with his credit or debit card, a hacker now has that information. If a woman checks her email on her cell phone and puts in a password, someone now has access to that information. If family members decide to hold a discussion, others can listen in. A victim can also be tracked back to his or her home, leading others to follow and break into it.
Not only does privacy decrease, valuable information lost or stolen will increase. Personal whereabouts will also increase and someone could stalk or follow the individual. A law should be passed in which the authorities and members of the Emergency Medical System has access to the cell phone caller and their location. However, anyone else should not have such tracking device as it can be proven to be dangerous and disadvantageous to the victim. Enhanced 911 calls should only be accessed by the correct persons, the system to conduct this should not be available to random citizens. Just by having such a system it could lead the victim to the emergency in itself, if they were to be tracked and followed.
ENHANCED 911 CALLS, WHERE WILL IT ALL END? 4
References
Charny, Ben. (2002, May). Cell phone tracking raises privacy issue. CNET. 1-2. Retrieved
4/27/2016 from http://www.cnet.com/news/cell-phone-tracking-raises-privacy-issues/
Harris, Dan. (2013, March). 911 Tracking System Raises Privacy Concerns. ABC NEWS.. 1-2.
Retrieved 4/27/2016 from http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=131182&page=1
Minch, R.P. (2004). Privacy Issues in Location-Aware Mobile Devices. College of Business and
Economics. Boise State Univeristy. 1-9. Retrieved 4/27/2016 from
https://www.computer.org/csdl/proceedings/hicss/2004/2056/05/205650127b.pdf
