Abstract
Abstract The protection of location data is a novel issue triggered by the development of science and technology. With the decreasing costs of position tracking functions and devices, countries are attaching greater importance to this area. However, although the scope of protection offered by the different opinions of privacy protection theories and judicial practices vary with the changing times, there are still some disputes over whether the theoretical developments cover the protection of personal location data. The widespread of smartphones and satellite positioning function resulted in a large number of location-based services, and also created new economic industries. However, whether the mass collection, storage, and use of the location data of others comply with personal data protection laws and regulations, or whether it should be under the control of a special law or code due to its special nature, is the focus of the discussions and analysis in this paper. The theme of this paper lies in the protection of personal location data using the laws of our country as the starting point. It aims not only to examine the comprehensiveness of the current laws protecting location data in our country, but also, with the support of legislations from other countries, presents issue-wise on two major topics: "national security and surveillance" and "regulations of commercial purposes and utilization". The paper takes into consideration the technical feasibility and economic analysis of the protection of location information, and tries to give advice and offer the optimal legislative direction of thinking.