14
Sep
170px-Seal_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives.svg

Congressman Proposes National Mobile Device Privacy Act In Response To Carrier IQ Snafu

Posted by in Carriers, News

Privacy on your mobile phone is kind of a big deal. And a company named Carrier IQ made it an even bigger one about a year ago by getting all up in a bunch of people's business. If you don't remember the Carrier IQ debacle of last winter, let me give you a rundown.

First, a guy named TrevE figured out that a company called Carrier IQ had its software installed on a bunch of phones, and that it was taking a lot of data from those phones. Like, scary amounts. And all that data went back to Carrier IQ, who then passed on some of it to the carriers.

30
Jan
Im-just-a-bill

Mobile Device Privacy Act Wants To Require Carriers To Notify You Of Any Tracking Software On Your Phone

Posted by in Android OS, Carriers, Legal, News

Congress is a lot like a slot machine - once in a while, something good comes out. A new bill introduced by Representative Ed Markey of Massachusetts would require cellular carriers in the US to disclose to end users upon purchase of a mobile device any tracking software present on said device, or any such software that might be installed at a later date by the carrier, manufacturer, or OS provider (that would be Google for Android).

After the Carrier IQ debacle, the public has taken a heightened interest in the privacy of the information on their smartphone devices, and rightfully so.