GPS Tracking | GPS Surveillance – Is it Legal?

Kurtz Investigations Nuremberg provides the following article to give an overview of the legal foundations and applications of GPS tracking. This is a very complicated, complex, and often legally opaque area. Our Franconian detectives aim to improve understanding of this topic both for their clients and for independent interested parties.

What is GPS and what are its applications?

The Global Positioning System, better known as GPS, is a satellite-based system originally developed for military purposes to determine positions. It allows not only easier navigation from point A to point B but also tracking of people or objects and, consequently, their surveillance. Private users now also rely on GPS, for example via GPS watches for sports and outdoor activities, and naturally through various GPS functions on personal smartphones, which are nowadays an important tool for our private detectives in Nuremberg with numerous applications. Originally, GPS was developed and used by the U.S. Department of Defence, as the system has the great advantage of receiving signals without transmitting one’s own location.

What is GPS tracking and where is it used?

GPS tracking is the recording of a route including date and time using the GPS technology described above. This form of technical surveillance is one of the easiest, fastest, and most cost-effective ways to create movement profiles of people, vehicles, or even animals. Accordingly, so-called tracks can be used for both private and commercial purposes.

 

The most common applications of GPS tracking are:

• GPS tracking of people, e.g., suspicious employees (see employee monitoring)
• GPS tracking of vehicles
• GPS tracking of animals
• GPS tracking of mobile phones

 

For many private uses of GPS surveillance – for example, a GPS tracker for one’s own cat to always know its location – there are no legal restrictions to observe. By contrast, the legal framework for commercial surveillance using GPS devices is significantly more complex. A precise understanding of these legal principles is essential for our detectives in Nuremberg to protect both themselves and their clients from severe penalties due to unlawful GPS use.

Which legal principles must be considered in GPS tracking?

Tracking employees in the workplace

Using GPS technology to track employees without prior agreement is largely restricted for data protection and personal rights reasons. These restrictions apply not only in Germany but also in many other EU countries. For example, according to the Vienna Chamber of Labour portal, employee monitoring via GPS devices in Austria is only permitted if approved by the works council. The law stipulates that any surveillance or control measure that touches on human dignity requires a works agreement. Consequently, a clause in the employee’s contract is generally insufficient and legally ineffective. In Germany, the works council does not even have such decision-making authority, as creating movement profiles is considered an excessive infringement of the tracked person’s personal rights.

 

Less intrusive measures to monitor employees, such as attendance logs or ID requirements within the company, are possible, but these provide only limited protection against employee misconduct. In general, Germany requires proportionality in monitoring measures. Covert GPS use must, like detective surveillance, be justified by a concrete suspicion of wrongdoing. Opinions on what constitutes sufficient grounds for GPS use vary widely, even among courts and legal experts.

 

Our business detectives in Nuremberg are happy to advise in detail on the best approach for your company based on our experience. You can contact us by email at kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de or by phone at +49 911 378 201 54.

Tracking vehicles

Employers often need to know the location of field staff in company vehicles to prevent misuse. GPS devices in company vehicles have therefore become indispensable. However, there are legal requirements to observe, as the vehicles being tracked inherently link to the employees driving them, creating a personal data reference. According to the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), continuous monitoring of employees is not permitted due to the constant pressure of supervision.

 

However, some options exist, such as works agreements or employee consent, allowing vehicles to be tracked – but always with the employee’s knowledge. Before installing GPS devices, the precise purpose should be defined and, if applicable, approved by the works council.

Covert tracking during observations

Whether covert tracking of third-party vehicles via GPS is permitted in exceptional cases or fundamentally prohibited in Germany has, according to our detectives in Fürth, Bamberg, and throughout Franconia, not yet been definitively clarified. There is, for example, no landmark ruling on whether observation-supporting tracking is allowed. Long-term movement profiling is clearly punishable. However, if a target already under observation is additionally tracked to maintain contact in case of line-of-sight loss, e.g., due to traffic lights, it is difficult to argue that the intrusion into personal rights is greater than that caused by the observation itself. Nevertheless, due to the unclear legal situation, Kurtz Investigations generally refrains from using GPS trackers during surveillance.

Kurtz Detective Agency Nuremberg

Äußere Bayreuther Straße 59

D-90409 Nuremberg

Tel.: +49 911 3782 0154

Email: kontakt@kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de

Web: https://www.kurtz-detektei-nuernberg.de/en

Google: https://g.page/kurtz-detektei-nuernberg