iPhone location data to be closely regulated in Europe

The fuss over the storage of location data by iOS has crossed international waters. The EU data protection advisory panel, a watchdog group that advises the European Commission, has said that location data is personal data. This ruling may lead to further restrictions limiting how this data may be used by Apple, advertisers and third-party applications.

The panel further recommended that companies need to get permission from smartphone owners before collecting location data and should be clear about how this data is being used. The group also suggests location services should be switched off by default. These proposals may become the early framework for a new law regulating location data in the EU. Eventually, these and other similar proposals could be included in Europe's broader revised Data Protection Directive later this year.