The New York Times has another article on the privacy issues surrounding applications that let people share their location with friends, just a few days after writing a similar piece based on Google’s plans with Jaiku. The issue is a subtle one, because of course people can choose whether to use the services, and can turn them off or block certain people at certain times—total control over the information they give out. So the issue is hidden privacy issues… Kevin Bankston, a staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said: “We seem to be getting into a period where people are closely watching each other…There are privacy risks we haven’t begun to grapple with.” Another question is being pressured by people to use the service all the time—by bosses, spouses, parents and so on. That’s something that people are going to have to talk about amongst themselves, and set boundaries. I remember the same concerns being raised when instant messaging was introduced (“you mean, people can see when you’re online?”), mobile phones were first launched (“so, someone can call me wherever I am to check up on me?”) and even with e-mail (I know one guy who logged onto his computer to find a series of e-mails from his girlfriend over a couple of hours, starting sweet… moving to questioning why he didn’t respond… followed by accusations of ignoring her and finally her dumping him). Society will develop rules and boundaries around this technology, just like around every other technology that comes out…

• Google’s Big Plans For Jaiku Raise Privacy Concerns
• Verizon Wireless Begins Asking Permission To Serve Ads; Opt out Or Else…
• Sprint To Launch Social Location Service; Launches Interoperable Social Networking Service