No Direction Home: Will the Law Keep Pace With Human Tracking Technology to Protect Individual Privacy and Stop Geoslavery

Authors

William A. Herbert, CUNY Hunter CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Summer 2006

Abstract

Increasingly, public and private employers are utilizing human tracking devices to monitor employee movement and conduct. Due to the propensity of American labor law to give greater weight toemployer property interests over most employee privacy expectations, there are currently few limitations on the use of human tracking in employment. The scope and nature of current legal principles regarding individual privacy are not sufficient to respond to the rapid development and use of human tracking technology. The academic use of the phrase “geoslavery” to describe the abusive use of such technology underscores its power. This article examines the use of such technology under current federal and state law and suggests potential means for developing greater legal protections against the abusive use of the technology and the intrusion into personal privacy.

Comments

This article was originally published in I/S: A Journal of Law and Policy.