[DavidSJ]

There's almost no legitimate fear here. Kids are almost never abducted.

Maybe most parents will tell themselves it's just for their kids' safety, but what do you think will happen when Jane spends the evening at her boyfriend's house instead of going to her music lesson? Do you think most parents are going to pretend they don't know? Does it matter?

Jane is now living in a police state.

[fragmede]

I'll admit I watch far too much Law and Order, but the first step after abducting a child? Toss their cell phone. Into the some other kid's backpack, or another parent's car, or a trash can at the greyhound station.

Throw the police and parents off the scent while little Jane gets hurt. Oh, she's still at school. Actually, she was abducted hours ago, and the trail is now complete cold.

[detst]

While I generally agree with you, I think this can be done properly. Track and notify the kid every time their location information is accessed. They say they'll be home absolutely no later than midnight. Parents call at 12:30am with no answer. They try again at 12:45am without an answer and finally check location at 1:00am. The kid knows they are late, sees two missed calls on their phone, finally followed by the location check.

I think that's a legitimate use that would be agreeable to most kids. While abductions numbers are low, things do happen to kids; being able to get their location when something seems wrong is a legitimate use, IMO. Sure it can be abused, but those parents are already invading their privacy in other ways.