An approach to studying location-based services regulation in Australia

Location-based Services (LBS) afford a means of positioning, tracing and tracking individuals and objects, for purposes such as emergency management, employee monitoring, and consumer convenience. This paper reviews the present LBS setting and expected developments in this space, with a particular focus on the implications for Australian research and regulatory efforts. The origins of LBS in the mobile-commerce field are explored, incorporating an appraisal of the underlying positioning technology, the stakeholders in the LBS value chain, and the regulatory environment in which these services are employed. There is an evident disparity between the implementation of LBS technologies and the introduction of suitable regulatory provisions, substantiated through limited consideration of the social and ethical implications and the practical safeguards required to govern LBS usage. This paper provides an approach for studying LBS regulation in general, and highlights the need for an interdisciplinary and comprehensive approach to fulfil the established gap in LBS literature and research. It also alludes to the importance of such an approach in the Australian context, and identifies research progress to date.