Apple, Google called to U.S. Senate hearing on mobile privacy
As the controversy over persistent location tracking in the iPhone and Google Android devices continues to surge, representatives from Apple and Google have been summoned to a Senate judiciary hearing on mobile technology privacy in May.
Democratic Senator Al Franken, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, will hold the hearing, titled "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy," on May 10.
Alongside the requested representatives from Apple and Google, witnesses at the hearing would include officials from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission; Ashkan Soltani, independent privacy researcher and consultant and Justin Brookman, Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology's Project on Consumer Privacy.
?Recent advances in mobile technology have allowed Americans to stay connected like never before and put an astonishing number of resources at our fingertips,? Franken said in a statement. ?But the same technology that has given us smartphones, tablets, and cell phones has also allowed these devices to gather extremely sensitive information about users, including detailed records of their daily movements and location. This hearing is the first step in making certain that federal laws protecting consumers? privacy?particularly when it comes to mobile devices?keep pace with advances in technology."
After security researchers revealed last week that Apple's iOS 4 operating system stores a detailed log of user's locations, Franken and other government officials sent concerned letters to Apple.
Last week, two customers filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, seeking refunds for their iPhones. The plaintiffs claimed they would never have bought the devices if they had known of the location tracking.
A report from The Wall Street Journal on Monday further ignited the issue when it revealed that location tracking appears to continue on the iPhone even when location services are disabled on the device.
South Korea, France, Germany and Italy have all reportedly initiated investigations into the practice.
iPhone location data plotted | Source: O'Reilly Radar
Also on Monday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan called for a meeting with Apple and Google in a letter to the companies addressing concerns over the storing of user location data.
?I want to know whether consumers have been informed of what is being tracked and stored by Apple and Google and whether those tracking and storage features can be disabled,? said Madigan. ?It?s important that these companies ensure that their users? private information is protected.?
Democratic Senator Al Franken, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, will hold the hearing, titled "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy," on May 10.
Alongside the requested representatives from Apple and Google, witnesses at the hearing would include officials from the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission; Ashkan Soltani, independent privacy researcher and consultant and Justin Brookman, Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology's Project on Consumer Privacy.
?Recent advances in mobile technology have allowed Americans to stay connected like never before and put an astonishing number of resources at our fingertips,? Franken said in a statement. ?But the same technology that has given us smartphones, tablets, and cell phones has also allowed these devices to gather extremely sensitive information about users, including detailed records of their daily movements and location. This hearing is the first step in making certain that federal laws protecting consumers? privacy?particularly when it comes to mobile devices?keep pace with advances in technology."
After security researchers revealed last week that Apple's iOS 4 operating system stores a detailed log of user's locations, Franken and other government officials sent concerned letters to Apple.
Last week, two customers filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, seeking refunds for their iPhones. The plaintiffs claimed they would never have bought the devices if they had known of the location tracking.
A report from The Wall Street Journal on Monday further ignited the issue when it revealed that location tracking appears to continue on the iPhone even when location services are disabled on the device.
South Korea, France, Germany and Italy have all reportedly initiated investigations into the practice.
iPhone location data plotted | Source: O'Reilly Radar
Also on Monday, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan called for a meeting with Apple and Google in a letter to the companies addressing concerns over the storing of user location data.
?I want to know whether consumers have been informed of what is being tracked and stored by Apple and Google and whether those tracking and storage features can be disabled,? said Madigan. ?It?s important that these companies ensure that their users? private information is protected.?
Comments
Its good to know our Senators want to pretend to grill the shills from Google and apple before they all go for cocktails and exchange campaign donations for thank yous, but sheesh, we have more important fake shows of outrage to fill the hours on CSPAN.
Now that I have my cynical rant out of my system, let me say that Al Frankin is a great Senator and appears to be one of the few in DC working for the people.
Otherwise, this story is going to get much worse before it gets better.
In the end, Apple's application Localization services will be the legitimate version as it's designed to make your 3rd party apps experience that much more rich and seamless.
I look forward to Google having to curb their usages for the data they actually encrypt and then collection back to corporate.
Apple and Google will be there to help the US Senate craft new legislation that clarifies what is legitimate and what is not.
I am not sure that I want Google to have anything to do with 'crafting' legislation that affects me.
About Apple, I worry less.
I am not sure that I want Google to have anything to do with 'crafting' legislation that affects me.
About Apple, I worry less.
I would be just as worried about apple...they are in the ad game too, and their goal as with any business is to make as much as possible, if they could get some bad stuff in law to protect the location features that they may want to use for iAds, they would be obligated to do so by the shareholders.
...allowing users the option to not sync the location data with iTunes (just as they do with calendar, contacts etc.) It's not such a big deal.
1) Would that make a difference? The data will still be on your device. The problem seems to be with the amount of cache of locations not the fact that the information is cached at all, coupled with the people blowing it out of proportion and ignoring actual sensitive data that is on the device, in the backups, and in your user accounts on your Mac/PC.
2) Where can you exclude iCal and Address Book from the backups? I only see the option to prevent them from syncing from your user account and the device via iTunes.
Glad to see they're bringing Google in as well.
Seems to me that those they aren?t bringing in have no mindshare. No RiM and no MS yet they both record location data, too.
1) Would that make a difference? The data will still be on your device. The problem seems to be with the amount of cache of locations not the fact that the information is cached at all, coupled with the people blowing it out of proportion and ignoring actual sensitive data that is on the device, in the backups, and in your user accounts on your Mac/PC.
2) Where can you exclude iCal and Address Book from the backups? I only see the option to prevent them from syncing from your user account and the device via iTunes.
1) I can easily wipe the device clean, in the event.
2) Yeah, that option.
Perhaps you could tell me, since I am genuinely puzzled by your stance on this: why is it such a big deal to you that Apple have the right to collect information about you that you do not control? (Apple has admitted to collecting it twice a day, without your consent).
On topic. I'm with Anant on this one. I tend to believe that Apple will do the right thing here, or at least I'll put my faith in their hands over Google any day. Its all a bit unnerving.
This is an important read: http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...-think/237786/
"Gubment" comes in to save the day against Smartphone terrorism.
I would be just as worried about apple...they are in the ad game too, and their goal as with any business is to make as much as possible, if they could get some bad stuff in law to protect the location features that they may want to use for iAds, they would be obligated to do so by the shareholders.
Apple is not in the 'ad game' in any significant way. Not remotely.
Phew
"Gubment" comes in to save the day against Smartphone terrorism.
I don't know about gubment, smartphones, and 'terrorism,' but the links between mobile phones and terrorism are all-too-well-known for you to be making silly jokes about it.
1) I can easily wipe the device clean, in the event.
Part of the hysteria was someone being able to find your device and hacking into it to find your general locations. I think that is silly when you have so much more info on your device that is important.
2) Yeah, that option.
As I stated, I don’t think that has to do with backups, but with syncing your Mac OS and Windows calander, address book, mail books and notes from your system TO your iDevice.
Perhaps you could tell me, since I am genuinely puzzled by your stance on this: why is it such a big deal to you that Apple have the right to collect information about you that you do not control? (Apple has admitted to collecting it twice a day, without your consent).
1) I have no problem with Apple being held accountable for their actions and have stated I would like an answer and resolution to their not clearing the cache. What I have a problem with is what I stated above about getting upset about the DB being on your iDevice and in your backups when it’s so trifling compared to actual specific data users keep on their iDevices and in their user accounts.
2) Last I read this data was not being sent to Apple, only kept in consolidated.db on your iDevice and in your iTunes backup which is how the iPhone Tracker app works and why this became an issue; not because this info was being sent to Apple. You quoted the info about it being sent to Apple as if it’s new info, not the same issue that has been discussed since last week
3) From the iPhone Tracker app site: 4) If Apple is collecting this 2x a day then what sense does it make to keep the data cached on the device or include it in a backup if it’s simply for data mining. They seem to cancel each other out.
5) Until I read some official stance that Apple is data mining and logging my position for some nefarious purpose and that consolidated.db has absolutely no benefit for quickly establishing a link I just can’t get worked up over this non-issue.
I don't know about gubment, smartphones, and 'terrorism,' but the links between mobile phones and terrorism are all-too-well-known for you to be making silly jokes about it.
This meeting does absolutely nothing for the citizen but waste Government resources. You may as well bring MasterCard/Visa/AMEX and other credit lenders in as well since my swipe puts at least my card at a specified terminal at a specified time.
Why fool citizens into thinking they have inhibited freedom of travel? I knew purchasing a cell phone meant that my every transaction could be pored over later.
Remember that guy that was sending text messages and failed to switch the train tracks? I don't think anyone ever promised me that my location on my phone wouldn't be known to others or stored.
Faux outrage coming from the media and faux concern coming from the Government.
Apple is not in the 'ad game' in any significant way. Not remotely.
But it looks like they are getting ready to collect information so they could be
But it looks like they are getting ready to collect information so they could be
No they're not.
They could be -- and probably are -- collecting such information for a whole bunch of other reasons.
2) Last I read this data was not being sent to Apple, only kept in consolidated.db on your iDevice and in your iTunes backup which is how the iPhone Tracker app works and why this became an issue; not because this info was being sent to Apple. You quoted the info about it being sent to Apple as if it?s new info, not the same issue that has been discussed since last week
You obviously missed this story:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...723453610.html
And this:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...ch_LEFTTopNews
Both very impressive pieces of reporting.