This is the same Joe Barton that apologized to BP because the Feds are holding them financially responsible?
Is this the same congress that allowed the didn't bat an eye when the major telcom companies handed over hordes and hordes of personal data to the Bush administration?
Grandstanding is all it is for them.
However, as much as I love Apple, these issues do need to be looked at. I know that when an app wants to use location services it will ask you to OK it first. But if you don't allow it, are you then also limiting the functionality of the app? Is it black or white? Can't we have an option to block collection of personal data and not block other things?
Am I making sense? I mean what kind of personal data is being collected? The wording in the SDK rules sounds like they can collect the data but just not give it to a third party. What is the definition of a third party? If an app developer is funded by company A and company A is owned by big huge company B, then is company B a third party? If not, then can they share it with the hundred other companies that company B owns?
So let me get this straight. Apple has clear, defined language specifying what data they are collecting and what they are using the data for, and that it is anonymous. They also have clear, defined language specifying the user's right to opt out of said data collection and a clear, defined procedure on how to opt out. Where, again, is the confusion?
The confusion is simple. Congressmen are stupid and know nothing.
Don't these politicians have other businesses to mess with?
No...they do not. The entire focus of a politician is on getting re-elected. They do this by appearing to stand up for the rights of voters while developing bureaucracies and hiring bureaucrats to spend your money.
So let me get this straight. Apple has clear, defined language specifying what data they are collecting and what they are using the data for, and that it is anonymous. They also have clear, defined language specifying the user's right to opt out of said data collection and a clear, defined procedure on how to opt out. Where, again, is the confusion?
There's been a lot of confusion. From AppleInsider on Tuesday:
?In addition, this week the company added a new section to its customer privacy policy, entitled "Location-Based Services." Users must agree to the new terms and conditions before they can download anything from iTunes or the App Store.
?"Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device," the addition reads. "This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide important location-based products and services."
Nowhere in the article does it say you can opt out of the Location-Based Services. In fact, the opposite is implied. MacNN even stated more directly that users could not opt out of the Location Services. So it's funny that AppleInsider is so high-and-mighty about someone else making the same mistake (though the original LA Times article was way overboard).
I'm glad that Congress has asked about it, and I hope they hold hearings where Apple, Google and everyone else are asked to explain their data collection practices. Consumers need more protection.
The confusion is simple. Congressmen are stupid and know nothing.
No, the Congressmen are very smart and know more than you think. To understand how they think, you just need to follow the money.
This whole think reeks of Google. I guess Apple is going to have to play the game and "out-lobby" Google. They have enough cash and short term investments. Maybe it's time for some long term investments.
No, the Congressmen are very smart and know more than you think. To understand how they think, you just need to follow the money.
This whole think reeks of Google. I guess Apple is going to have to play the game and "out-lobby" Google. They have enough cash and short term investments. Maybe it's time for some long term investments.
I know enough congressmen to know in fact that they are not -- their major focus is find a parade and get in front of it. For most their entire goal is "get re-elected" which is why the beltway crowd just pisses me off.
Some committee members are VERY smart if they really focus on a demanding committee, but those tend to be intel, finance, and a few others.
The privacy committee.... well let's just say it collects douchebags.
Joe Barton, the same idiot that apologized to BP last week? What an ignorant fool, from Texas! This man should not be allowed to open his mouth. I wonder the morons in his office who typed the questions. You would think they know better than foolish Joe.
Let him call Steve to testify in Congress since he is more concerned with presumed privacy than millions of gallons oil destroying America's coast. How stupid can one be, and still be a member of the Congress of the United States!
He is just waging the dog, so people will forget what he said about the White House and BP. Screw Joe Barton. I really detest this man.
The government attacking Apple for collecting your location is a bit rich when they themselves demand the details of all your income, which is a pretty serious privacy violation imo.
I wonder if RIM are using any of these services in their rip off of the App store.
If that congressman is confused now, wait until the realization dawns that the whereabouts of thousands of government employees up to THE PRESIDENT may be being monitored by companies controlled from Canada.
I wonder if RIM are using any of these services in their rip off of the App store.
If that congressman is confused now, wait until the realization dawns that the whereabouts of thousands of government employees up to THE PRESIDENT may be being monitored by companies controlled from Canada.
I wonder if RIM are using any of these services in their rip off of the App store.
If that congressman is confused now, wait until the realization dawns that the whereabouts of thousands of government employees up to THE PRESIDENT may be being monitored by companies controlled from Canada.
Best point of all the posts. One I hadn't thought of. Every cell phone has some sort of geolocation - by law. So if NObama calls 911, EMS can find him and so can the carrier or someone with access to their data.
I guess the Secret Service never thought of this when they approved his use of Blackberry. Scary!!
Maybe all we need is for Apple to provide a detailed example of what "precise location data" actually means. Not sure if this would be divulging too much corporate secrets or something - but why not publish a transcript - line by line - of the data that is in fact transmitted from an app on the phone when searching for a nearby restaurant or using turn by turn navigation or something.
For service such as Loopt - by signing up for that service in the first place you are intentionally, purposely, deciding to make your precise location and user name available to the rest of the folks in your network.
For folks who are really worried about an iAd popping up for say a nearby restaurant after you do a google search for restaurants or an iAd for a nearby car dealer after you watch a you tube video of some new car and think that is somehow an invasion of your privacy - let me ask you this - do you have a credit card or checking account or do you pay for everything with cash? and do you have any sort of member discount programs (grocery store, book store) or membership or subscriptions to magazine or netflix etc - if so you have already had your personally identifiable location and spending habits tracked, collated, analyzed and sold to third parties for purposes of advertising.
Or even simpler - do you own or rent (or lease or loan etc) a home or apartment etc where you name and address appear in public records? well then your personal information is already known to companies who want to send you target ads.
Every time you receive any sort of junk mail in your mailbox it is because someone somewhere has or has purchased your personally identifying precise location information - and I would bet that in nearly 100% of those cases you did not explicitly consent to having your personal information used to send you "junk mail" - and in nearly 100% of those cases you were never informed that you could opt out.
Regarding our elected officials - I recently had and idea - instead of term limits or tossing them out (with full benefits etc) and replacing them with others - we should have a period of time (10 to 20 years maybe) where we suspend all elections for the congress and senate - and eliminate all vacation time (okay maybe two weeks or major holidays - basically make it equal to the national average) - and identify the top 10 problems facing our nation - and each year that they do not fix at least one of the major issues - they get a pay cut and or a reduction in their benefits they will receive after leaving office. This way they would not have to spend any time campaigning and would have incentive to make real progress.
Wonder why our government is so messed up, because of ignorant elected officials spouting off before having one of the numerous staffers research something first. Either that or just wanting some free press for the folks back home.
Some of us keep hoping that he will come clean on this issue.
He's too smart to go down that road. It is too obvious. If he were to deny it then 15 seconds later
ww w.glennbeckliedprovethatyoudidnotrapeandkillthatgi rl.com would go live. It is a pissing match that is useless to get into. Those that hate him will still hate him, those that love him will still love him, and nobody else cares.
If Apple made land mines, the majority of Ra-Ra posters on this site would praise them for their kind heartedness in putting the opt out switch in a place where you had to stand on it in order to operate the switch. Apple would be extolled as being so much better than all those other land mine makers who didn't even install a switch.
It should all be opt-in as a default, and this is why we need politicians. In Europe, websites used to typically have the little box authorising them to send you mailouts and to share your information with other companies, pre selected. The law was changed so you had to opt-in. That was a good thing.
Comments
Your average congressperson majored in history and then got a law degree. They couldn't tell you the difference between a watt and a byte.
This one was too esoteric for me.
Some of us keep hoping that he will come clean on this issue.
Is this the same congress that allowed the didn't bat an eye when the major telcom companies handed over hordes and hordes of personal data to the Bush administration?
Grandstanding is all it is for them.
However, as much as I love Apple, these issues do need to be looked at. I know that when an app wants to use location services it will ask you to OK it first. But if you don't allow it, are you then also limiting the functionality of the app? Is it black or white? Can't we have an option to block collection of personal data and not block other things?
Am I making sense? I mean what kind of personal data is being collected? The wording in the SDK rules sounds like they can collect the data but just not give it to a third party. What is the definition of a third party? If an app developer is funded by company A and company A is owned by big huge company B, then is company B a third party? If not, then can they share it with the hundred other companies that company B owns?
Am I making sense? I mean what kind of personal data is being collected?
About as much as they are... and it wasn't just Barton. It was Congressmen Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.).
One's a Republican the other a Democrat, but they do have one thing in common: they're from the government.
So let me get this straight. Apple has clear, defined language specifying what data they are collecting and what they are using the data for, and that it is anonymous. They also have clear, defined language specifying the user's right to opt out of said data collection and a clear, defined procedure on how to opt out. Where, again, is the confusion?
The confusion is simple. Congressmen are stupid and know nothing.
Don't these politicians have other businesses to mess with?
No...they do not. The entire focus of a politician is on getting re-elected. They do this by appearing to stand up for the rights of voters while developing bureaucracies and hiring bureaucrats to spend your money.
So let me get this straight. Apple has clear, defined language specifying what data they are collecting and what they are using the data for, and that it is anonymous. They also have clear, defined language specifying the user's right to opt out of said data collection and a clear, defined procedure on how to opt out. Where, again, is the confusion?
There's been a lot of confusion. From AppleInsider on Tuesday:
?In addition, this week the company added a new section to its customer privacy policy, entitled "Location-Based Services." Users must agree to the new terms and conditions before they can download anything from iTunes or the App Store.
?"Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device," the addition reads. "This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide important location-based products and services."
Nowhere in the article does it say you can opt out of the Location-Based Services. In fact, the opposite is implied. MacNN even stated more directly that users could not opt out of the Location Services. So it's funny that AppleInsider is so high-and-mighty about someone else making the same mistake (though the original LA Times article was way overboard).
I'm glad that Congress has asked about it, and I hope they hold hearings where Apple, Google and everyone else are asked to explain their data collection practices. Consumers need more protection.
The confusion is simple. Congressmen are stupid and know nothing.
No, the Congressmen are very smart and know more than you think. To understand how they think, you just need to follow the money.
This whole think reeks of Google. I guess Apple is going to have to play the game and "out-lobby" Google. They have enough cash and short term investments. Maybe it's time for some long term investments.
No, the Congressmen are very smart and know more than you think. To understand how they think, you just need to follow the money.
This whole think reeks of Google. I guess Apple is going to have to play the game and "out-lobby" Google. They have enough cash and short term investments. Maybe it's time for some long term investments.
I know enough congressmen to know in fact that they are not -- their major focus is find a parade and get in front of it. For most their entire goal is "get re-elected" which is why the beltway crowd just pisses me off.
Some committee members are VERY smart if they really focus on a demanding committee, but those tend to be intel, finance, and a few others.
The privacy committee.... well let's just say it collects douchebags.
Let him call Steve to testify in Congress since he is more concerned with presumed privacy than millions of gallons oil destroying America's coast. How stupid can one be, and still be a member of the Congress of the United States!
He is just waging the dog, so people will forget what he said about the White House and BP. Screw Joe Barton. I really detest this man.
If that congressman is confused now, wait until the realization dawns that the whereabouts of thousands of government employees up to THE PRESIDENT may be being monitored by companies controlled from Canada.
I wonder if RIM are using any of these services in their rip off of the App store.
If that congressman is confused now, wait until the realization dawns that the whereabouts of thousands of government employees up to THE PRESIDENT may be being monitored by companies controlled from Canada.
That could get really entertaining!
I wonder if RIM are using any of these services in their rip off of the App store.
If that congressman is confused now, wait until the realization dawns that the whereabouts of thousands of government employees up to THE PRESIDENT may be being monitored by companies controlled from Canada.
Best point of all the posts. One I hadn't thought of. Every cell phone has some sort of geolocation - by law. So if NObama calls 911, EMS can find him and so can the carrier or someone with access to their data.
I guess the Secret Service never thought of this when they approved his use of Blackberry. Scary!!
Clear proof that Congress needs much younger members if they wish to deal with technology issues.
Are you suggesting that the idiot trollers here are older?
For service such as Loopt - by signing up for that service in the first place you are intentionally, purposely, deciding to make your precise location and user name available to the rest of the folks in your network.
For folks who are really worried about an iAd popping up for say a nearby restaurant after you do a google search for restaurants or an iAd for a nearby car dealer after you watch a you tube video of some new car and think that is somehow an invasion of your privacy - let me ask you this - do you have a credit card or checking account or do you pay for everything with cash? and do you have any sort of member discount programs (grocery store, book store) or membership or subscriptions to magazine or netflix etc - if so you have already had your personally identifiable location and spending habits tracked, collated, analyzed and sold to third parties for purposes of advertising.
Or even simpler - do you own or rent (or lease or loan etc) a home or apartment etc where you name and address appear in public records? well then your personal information is already known to companies who want to send you target ads.
Every time you receive any sort of junk mail in your mailbox it is because someone somewhere has or has purchased your personally identifying precise location information - and I would bet that in nearly 100% of those cases you did not explicitly consent to having your personal information used to send you "junk mail" - and in nearly 100% of those cases you were never informed that you could opt out.
Regarding our elected officials - I recently had and idea - instead of term limits or tossing them out (with full benefits etc) and replacing them with others - we should have a period of time (10 to 20 years maybe) where we suspend all elections for the congress and senate - and eliminate all vacation time (okay maybe two weeks or major holidays - basically make it equal to the national average) - and identify the top 10 problems facing our nation - and each year that they do not fix at least one of the major issues - they get a pay cut and or a reduction in their benefits they will receive after leaving office. This way they would not have to spend any time campaigning and would have incentive to make real progress.
Some of us keep hoping that he will come clean on this issue.
He's too smart to go down that road. It is too obvious. If he were to deny it then 15 seconds later
ww w.glennbeckliedprovethatyoudidnotrapeandkillthatgi rl.com would go live. It is a pissing match that is useless to get into. Those that hate him will still hate him, those that love him will still love him, and nobody else cares.
It should all be opt-in as a default, and this is why we need politicians. In Europe, websites used to typically have the little box authorising them to send you mailouts and to share your information with other companies, pre selected. The law was changed so you had to opt-in. That was a good thing.