Will GPS Jammers Proliferate in the Smart City?

Abstract

The Smart City will rely extensively on consented and unconsented information about people’s location and movements in order to fulfil its many ambitions. Utilising the Global Positioning System (GPS) is necessary and practical for Smart City agendas, as it provides time and positioning information which is essential for tracking systems. Nevertheless, the emergence of GPS-enabled tracking technologies over recent decades has spurred an increase in the use of GPS jamming devices (or Personal Privacy Devices (PPDs)). This article therefore argues that the normalisation of tracking in the Smart City may lead to the wider ownership of GPS jammers. To overcome this, the article explores the ways in which jammer proliferation can be overcome or avoided entirely taking examples of military, security, and civilian counter-jamming technologies and strategies.