“Following a formal petition from Senator Al Franken to handset makers and carriers in early December regarding their use of the Carrier IQ tracking app, AT&T, HTC, Samsung and Sprint have all submitted responses,” Electonista reports.
“Franken had written to the companies concerned that the Carrier IQ software pre-loaded on certain phones was a threat to user privacy,” Electonista reports. “Although each party offered up a range of responses to the 13 questions Franken had asked, Franken still had a number of concerns arising out of the information he was provided… Franken said ‘The average user of any device equipped with Carrier IQ software has no way of knowing that this software is running, what information it is getting, and who it is giving it to-and that’s a problem.’ Although not stating that he had more questions, it is likely that Franken will continue to pursue the matter until he is satisfied that the public is safe from being tracked without explicit permission being asked and given.””
Electonista reports, “AT&T’s response said that its use of the Carrier IQ software is primarily designed so that it can “collect diagnostic information about its network.” The company also listed for the first time all the handsets in its lineup that carries the tracking app [no iPhone – MDN Ed.]… It currently has 575,000 devices currently sending data using Carrier IQ out of 900,000 with the app installed on it. Sprint’s response revealed that it as many as 26 million devices running Carrier IQ [no iPhone – MDN Ed.].”
Read more in the full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
U.S. Senator Al Franken presses wireless companies and hardware makers for Carrier IQ answers – December 5, 2011
Apple, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile USA sued over alleged Carrier IQ use – December 5, 2011
Phone ‘rootkit’ maker Carrier IQ may have violated U.S. federal wiretap law in millions of cases – December 4, 2011
Carrier IQ is misunderstood, not evil – December 3, 2011
U.S. Congress Democrat Markey calls for FTC investigation of Carrier IQ software – December 3, 2011
Apple will remove Carrier IQ; how to block it on your iPhone now – December 2, 2011
U.S. Senator Al Franken wants answers from companies who install Carrier IQ software on smartphones – December 1, 2011
Senator Al Franken! Paging Senator Al Franken! – December 1, 2011
Video shows secret software on millions of Android, BlackBerry, and Nokia phones logging everything you do – November 30, 2011
Franken will never be satisfied, he’s too ignorant to comprehend what he’s given and is probably surrounded by staff as incompetent as he is
For fear that you are talking out of your ass, do you know Al Franken and his staff? What (post links if needed) makes him ignorant and his staff incompetent? Sometimes it’s better to say “I don’t like Al Franken” and keep it at that if you don’t know shit about what you are saying and just feel like hating on someone because they are not tied to your favorite party.
This message board is about technology. The questions Al Frankens has seem very important to ask.
I don’t care if you don’t like Al Franken. (lol!)
Riiight…because there is no public record of Franken’s ignorance. Correct u self…
You sure haven’t provided anything of substance. No need to correct myself because I’m not making partisan comments like you.
Al Franken can kiss my rosy red arse.
Even Al Franken would know better than to do that – no saying what he might catch were he to do that.
Sounds like someone spanked it first…self-flagellation?
If there was a public record of your utterances (outside of this forum), then I have no doubt that it would be a gold mine on inanity. Sure Franken has done some stupid things. You would be extremely hard-pressed to name one public figure who hasn’t. Enjoy your long term stay in fantasyland where people actually care about your opinion.
… are as ignorant, or as stupid, as the bottom third of all adults in America. Though several of them have been running for president on the Republican ticket this round. Al Franken is a comic, not a fool, and has done, and said, some strange things in that role. Nothing like Bachman, Cain, Perry or Cantor. Sorry, Cantor isn’t running for POTUS, just doing acts of treason. And bragging about it! Talk about STUPID!
Sorry, got off-track.
I didn’t mean to suggest this is a NoPublican thing, though. Yes, Democrats can put their foot in it as well. Franken, though, is not a dinged up example of this, though. So tell it like it is: “I hate him and all other Democrats”. We will understand.
… http://www.politicususa.com/en/cantor-treason
… was your comment an ad hominem defense of corporate spying? Or a red herring designed to side-track the discussion?
I feel the behavior Franken was questioning is an unethical and unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Does that even matter to you?