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: {____]9:45.AM 5/30/2001, Internet Policy News Page 8 of 9 b6 -5 b7c -5 users, But as web-enabled personal digital assistants (PDAs) and cell phones merge into single devices and carry location-driven applications - such as services, for example, that will flash advertisements on a PDA when users pass stores having sales, or services that alert users to traffic conditions - privacy advocates are eager to make sure that this information cannot be freely distributed. The 911 amendment applies to wireless carriers, but it does not necessarily address applications providers, "The question is, what are the rules for these applications," said Ari Schwartz, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology, a cyberspace civil liberties organization. "And most importantly, what are the rules for government and for civil cases? Imagine a civil case is brought against you and they have everywhere you have been. The technology becomes a dog tag." Schwartz said the legislative proposals to be aired in coming months will attempt to “level the playing field" between the wireless carriers and the application providers, so, for example, just like wireless carriers, application providers would have to get the consent of consumers before they tracks their locations. The wireless industry has not tried to block legislation that would require application providers get consumer consent before they track them or trade in the location information, Schwartz praised the wireless industry for recognizing that location information could be particularly sensitive to consumers. : Phone spam, for example, could become a major problem without legislative remedies. "Tf it's cheap for application providers to have the phones of thousands of people to ring, they will do it," he said, if only for a single sale. The industry has always been supportive of a restrictive "opt-in" scheme. That's where consumers must offer explicit consent before companies can use their personal information. “It's in the carriers interest to have customers carrying their phones and having their phones turned on," said Michael Altschul, general counsel and vice president for regulatory policy and law be -5 b7C -5 FBI(19-cv-1495)-2159