Lax Telecoms Give Privacy Pirates Free Rein

With the right software, any switched-on mobile phone in China can be traced by a single computer user within 50 meters, sometimes within five, of his or her location.

Phone-locator software is supposed to be highly restricted and require special consent. And in theory the privacy of mobile phone customers – including their locations and personal data – are protected by China's telecom laws.

But two recent court trials, including one involving the illegal use of phone-locator software, exposed wide gaps in the enforcement of these restrictions and privacy laws.