With the advent of Facebook Faces and the ability it gives the social media behemoth to track the location of a user via their iPhone, it seems only a matter of time before several things start happening. First came the break-ins as intrepid thieves learned that certain users were out of their homes. Suddenly, it seems obvious that for every new application under the sun, someone is plotting a devious usage of that technology. Other crimes might be enabled, or deterred, by new technology.
Is that utilitarianism limited to hackers and identity thieves? As the technology improves, it seems obvious that even large companies would use it to their advantage. In this case, the iPhone’s GPS capabilities make it a potentially unwitting partner in causing you some futuristic feeling grief. In time, as Facebook Faces manages to track its users’ locations to the square yard of the Earth’s surface, more than thieves will have their day.
An example would look like this: your auto insurance company, long your friend as they utilize social media, tracks your driving down the freeway on a road trip. Suddenly you decide it’s time to show your pal the full acceleration capabilities of your new car. Stepping on the gas, you’re quickly driving at well into triple digit speeds in the middle of nowhere. There’s not a soul to be seen, especially not a state patrol cruiser.
But eyes could be watching you through the GPS capabilities in your phone. And when they notice that you’re moving across the desert at 130 plus miles per hour in a 75 mph zone, something unusual happens. A few days after your return from the road, you get an email from your insurer. You’ve been dropped. No explanations, no begging for leniency. Ultimately, you’ve been seen in the commission of a major violation. You didn’t get away with your crime this time.
