Call for mobile tracking controls

Child tracking services are set to grow

A coalition of children's charities has urged the UK government to set strict controls on services that let parents track their children by their mobiles.

The Children's Charities' Coalition on Internet Safety (Chis) presented their case outlining their concerns to MPs.

Chis' John Carr said it was vital that mobile companies were legally bound to confirm who signed up to the services.

A new breed of services let parents pinpoint their child's mobile via text message or the web.

The coalition is worried that as more firms offer the services a lack of legal safeguards could mean tracking facilities get into the wrong hands.

"It is a classic example of a technology-led solution where it should have been child safety-led," John Carr, NCH's technology advisor and Chis spokesperson told BBC News Online.

Exploit worry

Firms offering the technology, such as ChildLocate, have already consulted with mobile operators and children's charities about appropriate safeguards.

Jon Magnusson, managing director of ChildLocate, said he was satisfied his service had the appropriate verification and security measures in place to protect children.

But Chis thinks more needs to be done, particuarly within mobile operators.

"While mobile companies say they are willing to embrace all the points we are making about verification and so on, they do not accept they are under any legal obligation," said Mr Carr.

"What about other companies that come along that might not have such high principles?"

He said mobile operators should be legally made to confirm who is using the tracking facilities, and that the child has given permission to be tracked.

"It is essential that watertight rules and regulations are established now. The new tracking services will be even more accurate at pinpointing [to within a few metres].

The message implicit in the services is that knowing where your child is same as knowing they are safe, which is absolutely not true. Most parents will understand that, but not everyone will John Carr, Chis spokesman

"We must get this absolutely right to ensure our children's safety."

In return for a subscription charge and per text message fee, ChildLocate tracks a child's mobile and texts back its location to parents within seconds.

Parents can also locate phones, within 30 metres, over a secure website, but the service only works if the mobile is switched on.

Currently, the UK's main mobile networks, Vodafone, T-Mobile, O2 and Orange offer the service.

ChildLocate requires a valid UK address, a credit card, and net access for registration. It also employs sophisticated encryption technology to protect the website from hacking efforts, as well as data scanning.

"I am pretty happy the way it is, but it is a continuous process. We have taken all the technical precautions we can," said Mr Magnusson.

"Any service that doesn't fulfil privacy procedures and exposes this business to risk is bad for everyone and defeats the object.

"It is essential for new services that people can trust them."

He added that he fully understood the concerns some might have, but a "sensible" approach was needed.

"The last thing I want to see is conditions that would make this service complicated for people to use. We have to go as far as we can to make it secure."

Safety message

Although, technically, security measures are in place, anyone with a child's mobile number could use the service to request the location of that child.

I don't think they will be led into false sense of security. They know just as well what we are providing is the location of the phone at the time Jon Magnusson, ChildLocate

The onus is on the child to decide whether to accept or reject the request, if it is not from a parent.

This could be problematic if a child ignores net safety advice and swaps mobile numbers with someone online.

"At the end of the day, this is a process and if the child is online, then they are in a position to give out their home address," explained Mr Magnusson.

"What you can do is make it clear what is going on and prompt the child to get their parents involved. You can never stop a child taking the decision to do something."

Such tracking ability has been used for some time by police authorities.

But this is the first time ever that this capability has been available for people to buy, and it has emerged in just under a year.

Mr Carr and Chis' concerns go further than legal issues too.

"We are also concerned about what this is saying about modern family life. How the services are marketed is going to be very important," said Mr Carr.

"The message implicit in the services is that knowing where your child is same as knowing they are safe, which is absolutely not true. Most parents will understand that, but not everyone will.

Mr Magnusson doubted that parents would become blasé about safety.

"I don't think they will be led into false sense of security. They know just as well what we are providing is the location of the phone at the time."

Chis sent its concerns to Lord Falconer, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, as well as the All Party Parliamentary Group for Children (APPGC).

They were also sent to the Information Commissioner and Ofcom, as well as several other influential organisations.