Society supports responsible practice when using location data

^{Image: Nastya Dulhiier}

The Society has become a member of the Locus Charter, a proposed set of common international principles that can guide responsible practice when using location data.

The Charter, facilitated by The Benchmark Initiative and EthicalGeo, supports location data users in safeguarding privacy, protecting the vulnerable, and addressing any harmful impacts of bias in data.

Location data is currently at the heart of debates around digital privacy. It is increasingly deployed in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, fighting climate change, protecting the environment and improving public health, all areas in which public trust and confidence in the responsible use of data is crucial.

The Locus Charter is one of several ways we are highlighting the impact of location data in policy and practice. We are working with the Association for Geographic Information (AGI) to develop a series of workshops that will support geographers and location data users in putting the Charter principles into practice, providing advice and examples to inform and improve their work. We will share further details soon.

Find out more:

• Locus Charter

• Society’s consultation responses including references to responsible use of location data