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GPS Tracking And The Ethical Dilemma

GPS Tracking And The Ethical Dilemma

By Joe Mueller

GPS tracking is a technology that allows its users to gather position information on an objects or person with laser like precision. As you can imagine, this technology has all sorts of valuable applications: asset tracking for large shipping companies, fleet tracking and management services, watching criminals, spying on a cheating spouse or lover, keeping teens and kids safe, as well as a plethora of others.

With this extensive propagation of this technology should cause us all to stop and think about some of the deeper ethical implications and moral issues that using this type of device on a human being can have.

Not everyone you meet with think that there is potential for abuse with this type of location technology. There moral compass simply doesn't point in that direction. However, tracking technology could potentially be a violation of an individual's right to privacy.

Under what circumstances would installing a GPS tracking device begin to infringe on the rights of a person? Are there other rights that we also need to take into consideration when examining the us of GPS devices to monitor activity? These are the questions that really matter in considering the morality behind the use of this technology.

The crux of this discussion is going to hinge on the issue of when GPS tracking begins to infringe on the basic freedoms and rights that we associate with being human. If we can demonstrate that knowing where a person is is a violation of their rights then we will show that utilizing this technology is inappropriate and should not be used on humans.

However, since this issue can affect a wide range of individuals it is important to make distinctions - like between a child and your spouse, or a stranger and an employee. These distinctions will help bring into relief the essential principles that make tracking with GPS ethical or unethical.

The very first thing we should look at is what it means to be free. Freedom is always difficult to discuss because there are so many differing views on it. Some say there isn't even such a thing as freedom while other say that people can't help but be completely and entirely free. It can be very, very confusing. So, for the sake of this argument we are going to assume that freedom exists within the confine of what we will call "personal rights." Freedoms are simply the big concepts behind personal rights.

If I have the right to drive a car, I would say that I am free to drive a car. If I have the right to privacy, I would say that I have a freedom to be autonomous. Freedoms are the meta principles behind rights.

In our society, that rights are often codified into law - but this is not always the case. Many perceived rights are not necessarily made laws in a society. One right that is law is the right to bear arms. From this right we can deduce a freedom to protect your family unit from outside attacks.

Is there a freedom or right category that the use of the Global Positioning System might violate? Sure - the right to privacy comes directly to mind.

If GPS tracking is used to violate a person's right to privacy without good reason then the use of GPS tracking is unethical. There are some good reasons to use location tracking on people - like to keep them safe or to ensure that they are holding up there end of the bargain. This technology should be used carefully and with restraint. You don't want to infringe on someone else's rights!