Sprint Nextel says figure doesn’t represent actual number of customers whose location information was provided. Instead, the number represents automated individual requests, or “pings” by authorities for specific location information needed for investigations. Privacy advocates say the episode highlights the need for legal standards governing the collection of location-based information. “When it comes to law enforcement access to location information, it really is the Wild West,” says one think tank think tank. The lack of transparency governing law enforcement’s use of electronic surveillance technology has frustrated attempts at oversight, he says.”]
Source: https://www.csoonline.com/article/2124574/sprint-downplays-report-it-shared-gps-data-with-feds.html