Commission urged to provide phone-tracking technology

THE European Commission is being urged to provide a safeguard for parents in the development of new technology which would allow them track their children’s whereabouts using mobile phones.

The system allows parents to buy a special chip to attach to their child’s mobile. The device would pinpoint the location of the phone within an accuracy of 10 metres.

It is similar to the signal locator used in tracking the location of Robert Holohan’s mobile phone.

However, according to forensic scientist Rachel O’Connell, the system needs to include a Pin number safeguard to prevent paedophiles from using it to abduct children.

“There are systems on the internet where parents can buy locators for their child’s phone and the mobile phone operator can then pinpoint their child’s phone’s location within 10 metres. In Finland, for instance, the government is very much in favour of its introduction,” said Ms O’Connell.

Speaking on Today with Pat Kenny, Dr O’Connell, Director of Research at the Cyberspace Research Unit at the University of Central Lancashire, said that while this represented a “wonderful capability,” it also presented opportunities for child abusers.

“The same technology could be used by paedophiles to track children and abduct them. There are a lot of positives with this system but we need to be careful that we don’t at the same time facilitate those with ill intent.

“We are trying to work with the EU commission to ensure that parents have control over locating their child by using the child’s mobile phone. Otherwise the technology could be abused by paedophiles to track vulnerable children and abduct them,” she said.

Dr O’Connell said an EU wide protocol was also needed for mobile phone networks and, in particular, the ease of accessibility to ready-to-go phones.

“That would be very significant in how we limit access to porn. Various companies are not answerable at the moment.

“It is also the case that mobile phone operators work very closely with the police and that tracking signals from phones is a very important part of the investigative toolbag.”