South Australian government looking into 'Big Brother'-style network that taps into phones to track movements with owners' permission A 'BIG Brother' sensor network for South Australia that taps into smartphones, with their owners' permission, to track people's movements is being discussed by the State Government. The SenSA initiative looks at "recognising that not all data of public interest is in government hands," Premier Jay Weatherill said. The data collected could be used to guide urban planning, transport and other initiatives like neighbourhood needs and even work conditions. Environment Protection Authority South Australia chief executive Dr Campbell Gemmell has been tasked with convening a "roundtable" feasibility discussion to explore this idea further. Academic, community and industry stakeholders will be asked to discuss implications and decide whether it is a good idea and if it is a good idea, the ways in which it can be implemented. Telemetry data about people's daily travel to a secure and anonymous mapping service would give better-quality information than we have ever had to guide all sorts of decisions, Mr Weatherill said. The concept is an example of the "fresh thinking" the government wants to encourage within the IT sector through the government's discussion paper on the ICT sector called SA Connected, which was also released yesterday. In 2010, the Transport Department tapped into mobile phones using a bluetooth signal tracking system to collect data to determine the best route for the O-Bahn extension to the city. Earlier this year, the Rundle Mall Management Authority and Adelaide City Council spoke of using tracking to chart foot traffic and target dead spots with pop-up shops and entertainment. The technology is used extensively in the UK and the US, but it has not been without controversy and legal challenges. He was speaking at an Information and Communications Technology Summit in Adelaide organised by the government in partnership with the Australian Information Industry Association. He also launched Unleashed, a competition for the information technology sector to use state government data to design mobile phone apps and other digital solutions, which will be part of 'Govhack' - Australia's largest national open data competition from June 1-2.