Commission européenne: données de localisation

Le Groupe de travail "Article 29" sur la protection des données vient de publier une opinion dont l'objectif "is to clarify the legal framework applicable to geolocation services that are available on and/or generated by smart mobile devices that can connect with the Internet and are equipped with location sensitive sensors" (p. 3).

Après avoir examiné le fonctionnement du GPS, du GSM et du WiFi, après avoir indiqué que "a smart mobile device is very intimately linked to a specific individual" (p. 7), après avoir fait état des obligations découlant des lois de protection des données personnelles, le Groupe de travail conclut notamment que

"[t]he EU legal framework for the use of geolocation data from smart mobile devices is primarily the data protection directive [i.e. directive 1995/46/CE]. Location data from smart mobile devices are personal data. The combination of the unique MAC address and the calculated location of a WiFi access point should be treated as personal data.
In addition, the revised e-privacy directive 2002/58/EC only applies to the processing of base station data by telecom operators" (p. 20). 

Par conséquent, ces données constituent des données personnels, il est rappelé, entre autres, que leurs traitements nécessitent un consentement préalable, éclairé et spécifique. Ou encore que les services de localisation ne doivent pas être activés sans le consentement de la personne concernée et que les données de localisation doivent être détruites après une certaine période. 

Par ailleurs, le Groupe de travail porte une attention particulière aux données de localisation des employés et des jeunes en précisant que: 

"[w]ith regard to employees, employers may only adopt this technology when it is demonstrably necessary for a legitimate purpose, and the same goals cannot be achieved with less intrusive means. With regard to children, parents must be judge whether the use of such an application is justified in specific circumstances. At the very least the must inform their children, and, as soon as reasonably possible, allow them to participate in the decision to use such an application" (p. 20).  

• ARTICLE 29 DATA PROTECTION WORKING PARTY, Opinion 13/2011 on Geolocation services on smart mobile devices, WP 185, 16 may 2011.

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Il convient de préciser que la problématique "vie privée et applications mobiles" fait l'objet de plusieurs évènements, notamment:

• U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary - séance du 10 mai 2011 sur "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy"

• U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation - séance du 19 mai 2011 sur Consumer Privacy and Protection in the Mobile Maketplace.

• Federal Communication Commission - évènement prévu pour le 28 juin 2011:

"The FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau in consultation with Federal Trade Commission staff will hold a public education forum featuring representatives of telecommunications carriers, technology companies, consumer advocacy groups and academia on June 28, 2011, exploring how consumers can be both smart and secure when realizing the benefits of Location Based Services (LBS). Topics will include: how LBS works; benefits and risks of LBS; consumer DOs and DON’Ts; industry best practices; and what parents should know about location tracking when their children use mobile devices." (Source: FCC, "Event - Location Based Services Forum")