HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	177
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the hawaii tourism authority, in consultation with the office of enterprise technology services, to conduct a study on the social and safety impacts of geotagging.

WHEREAS, geotagging is the process of appending geographic coordinates to media based on the location of a mobile device; and

WHEREAS, geotagging provides helpful insight into consumer activity by allowing users to share the location where a video or picture was taken or where the user is currently located; and

WHEREAS, geotagging also allows organizations to analyze where and how consumers interact with brands, thereby allowing organizations to provide specialized offers and messaging; and

WHEREAS, although geotagging allows a user to easily share their location or where they visited with others, there are unintended consequences of geotagging; and

WHEREAS, geotagging is one of the many contributing factors of overtourism, a major problem for the State as the increase in the number of visitors each year takes a toll on the State's natural resources; and

WHEREAS, geotagging can attract a large number of visitors to locations that simply do not have the infrastructure needed to support large numbers of visitors; and

WHEREAS, not only does this affect natural resources that cannot support the influx of visitors, it also creates safety concerns; and

WHEREAS, despite the potentially positive consumer, marketing, and social benefits of geotagging, other impacts of geotagging have yet to be studied in depth and need to be better understood to address the probable social and safety impacts of the continued or expanded use of geotagging; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, that the Hawaii Tourism Authority, in consultation with the Office of Enterprise Technology Services, is urged to conduct a study of the social and safety impacts of geotagging in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Tourism Authority is urged to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2024; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Chief Information Officer of the Office of Enterprise Technology Services.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Geotagging; Hawaii Tourism Authority; Office of Enterprise Technology Services; Study