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Lukas Bühlmann
The rapid rise of GPS location based geosocial marketing, its legal implications and risks to advertisers. That has been the topic of a session at the IBA Annual Conference 2010 in Vancouver.
Mobile computing technology as a communication tool was initially limited to voice telephony. However, due to the massive technical improvement of mobile devices and the consolidation of telecommunication networks and internet technology, mobile devices have evolved to full-scale internet-enabled computers.
The convergence of those technologies provides endless possibilities for mobile computing applications and usage. The emergence of the above described technologies and the use of GPS-data of the user have also paved the way for mobile advertising.
The unique features of handheld devices, including their mobility, location-awareness and personalization are the basis to deliver direct and targeted communications.
However, the same technologies that bring all the benefits to users and companies raise a lot of legal issues; the main concern being privacy and data protection issues. Now, due to the GPS-functionality of many web-based mobile phones, advertisers have the capacity to easily piece together a profile based on mobile web surfing and online activities from these increasingly powerful web-based phones. Wireless carriers have information about the location of their subscribers. Ad-servers act like decision engines, figuring out when and what advertising messages to send to individuals based on ad-category, time of day, the user’s GPS-derived location and search queries and keywords they have entered.
The use of location-data in advertising also raises issues concerning anti-spam regulation. Advertising restrictions become relevant in a cross-border context. A number of industry codes have been set up that need to be complied with.
The Legal issues arising from GPS-based mobile advertisements has been the topic of a session at the IBA Annual Conference in Vancouver. The co-chair is held by Lukas Bühlmann and Dr. Martin Schirmbacher(HÄRTING Rechtsanwälte, Berlin). We provide you with a paper covering the major issues of the session, e.g. privacy issues, information requirements, advertising restrictions or codes of conduct.
Speakers of the session:
- Tyler Nelson, CEO, Adenyo, Toronto Canada: Mobile Marketing – what is it all about?
- Marina Palomba, Reed Smith, London, UK: Industry Codes & Codes of Conduct
- Fredrik Roos, Setterwalls, Goetheborg, Sweden: privacy, data protection and location data
- Ben Rickert, Microsoft, Seattle, USA: Microsoft and the Evolving Mobile Marketplace – The Industry Approach to the Legal Framework
- Lukas Bühlmann, Bühlmann Rechtsanwälte, Zurich: Unsolicited Commercial Communications, Information requirements
Contact: Lukas Bühlmann & Dr. Martin Schirmbacher, HÄRTING Rechtsanwälte, Berlin
