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GPS tracking devices have a multitude of uses, the majority of them are mostly beneficial. However, GPS devices sometimes involve privacy issues that can, at times, lead to controversy. Fleet Vehicles and GPS Tracking Devices You'll find that there are many companies both large and small that use GPS tracking devices to follow the location of their vehicles. The majority of trucking companies have the capability to tell you where all of their vehicles are at any given point in time. In a similar manner, taxi companies as well as repair companies have the capability to monitor their trucks location so that they can dispatch them in a more efficient manner. However, there are people that believe this gives the companies who choose to use GPS tracking devices more information than is needed about their drivers. For instance, trucking companies have the capability to know how much time a trucker has spent on the road, when and for what period of time he stops for sleep or meals and if he has taken any unscheduled side trips. Dispatchers at these companies may be privy to personal information that is none of their business, such as a driver having lunch each day at the same place, and it is not his residence. Some individuals are of the opinion that this constitutes an invasion of personal privacy. Teens and GPS Tracking Devices There are some parents who use GPS tracking devices to know the location of their teens. They may download GPS tracking software technology to the mobile phones of their teens, or they may place a GPS tracking device somewhere in their car. The teenagers may or may not be aware that their parents are monitoring them. There is likely quite a few teens who believe that this is and invasion of their privacy. GPS Tracking Devices and Surveillance Does the thought run through your mind if your spouse having an affair? Curious to find out what your brother-in-law is up to? If you place a hidden GPS tracking device on their vehicle, you will at least know where they are going in their car. You may have to come to your own conclusions as to what they are actually doing there. There are many people who would agree that this would be an invasion of privacy and quite a few would be offended if they either knew or suspected you were tracking them. Things get a little more involved when police use GPS tracking devices. GPS tracking devices have been used by police to successfully solve crimes. An example of the conflict between serving justice and invasion of privacy; say the police put a GPS tracking device on the car of a person they suspect of being a murderer. They successfully track the the murderer as he unknowingly leads them to the victims grave. Is this an invasion of privacy? Should law enforcement officials be allowed to use GPS tracking devices this way? If, for instance, the police need to obtain a search warrant from a judge to use a GPS tracking device, should a private citizen be able to use this technology without a warrant? Should the average private citizen even be allowed to use GPS tracking device technology at all? At times the right to privacy and the right to information are in conflict, this is one of those time. All technology has moral and ethical implications that we as individuals and society as a whole has to grapple with. The right to privacy is the ethical dilemma we are forced to deal with when we use GPS tracking device technology.
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