Author: Julie Campbell

The think tank has raised considerable concerns regarding consumer safety and security.

In 2012, a geolocation privacy bill by Senator Al Franken (D-Minnesota) was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, in order to provide the users of smartphones with a greater degree of control over the way that their data is controlled.

However, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation feels this legislation is problematic.

The law that was proposed would make it necessary for app developers to require users to specifically opt in to programs that would allow for the collection or disclosure of geolocation data. It would no longer be permitted for apps to automatically select that option, so that users would need to actively opt out if they did not wish to share their information in that way.

The geolocation data was not being protected by the companies that collected it, said Franken.

According to the senator, the “Companies that collect our location information are not protecting it the way they should.” At that time, he made reference to a number of errors and blunders regarding privacy, which had drawn considerable media attention. This included reports that Android and iPhone devices were sending the geolocation data of their users to Google and Apple.

Not to mention the CarrierIQ fiasco. That company was a part of a high profile discovery in 2011, when the researcher demonstrated that its software was capable of logging the keystrokes that were made on smartphones.

While it is Franken’s intention to reintroduce the geolocation privacy bill in 2013, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), a think tank, is openly arguing that this proposed law may not encourage positive changes. In fact, it called the legislation “particularly problematic for apps that are supported by location-based advertising.”

It explained that the bill, which was designed to protect a user’s privacy in the face of geolocation technology and use, would require a user to have to give consent every time the app intends to work with a new ad network. This, they say, would generate awkward consumer notices. The think tank’s behaviors in the past have not indicated that they are adverse to advertising techniques such as pop-ups, which they recently used to state that they were rejecting do-not-track requests.

Though there have been only unconfirmed rumors until now, the filing has provided confirmation.

It has just been observed that Disney has made a filing for a patent for a form of augmented reality technology that is meant for a 3D game console, which has now provided the confirmation that has been awaited by many following the initial rumor of its development.

The initial announcement of the game console’s creation had been a slip that was released accidentally.

The company has not made any move to deny the mobile video game console project, but if it had any intention to start, its opportunity has now been quashed with the application for an augmented reality technology patent. The documentation discusses precisely that form of device, including initial sketches and descriptions. The machine that is discussed in the patent application indicates a device that can be compared to the already released Nintendo 3DS.

There are certain differences between the devices, however, such as the application of augmented reality.

This will allow the portable console to be aimed at a certain real scene, capture it, and then apply augmented reality elements to it to provide enhancements and animations. What is therefore suggested, is that it would allow a real image to be taken by the player, who would then be able to watch it come to life through animation, for example.

There was a sketch provided within the patent application that suggested that the appearance of the augmented reality mobile game console would be strikingly similar to the Nintendo 3DS. It showed the dual screens as well as the flip open design for which the existing console is already recognized. At the time of this release, Nintendo had yet to make any comments regarding their opinion of the similarities between the two devices.

That said, the company may abstain from commenting simply because Disney may not have any intention of having their augmented reality game device appear in any way similar to that of Nintendo. The documentation included only a preliminary sketch, and it is more than likely that its final appearance will be considerably different from these first drawings.