Carrier IQ denies giving private user data to the FBI
(CBS) - A recent request to access data made available from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) has caused a second wave of controversy for the tracking software company Carrier IQ.
Carrier IQ lawsuits pending for Apple, Samsung, HTC, AT&T, Sprint and more
On Dec. 1, journalist Michael Morisy of the website MuckRock sent this request to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, "Any manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ."
The Feds responded by saying, "The material you requested is located in an investigative file which is exempt from disclosure."
The government agency went on to say the information exempt from the FOIA includes, "records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information...could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings."
The FBI's response does seem suspicious, however, there simply isn't enough information to determine if Carrier IQ has provided user information to the Feds.
In response to the accusations the company released this statement:
"Carrier IQ has never provided any data to the FBI. If approached by a law enforcement agency, we would refer them to the network operators, because the diagnostic data collected belongs to them and not Carrier IQ."
"Carrier IQ's data is not designed to address the special needs of law enforcement. The diagnostic data that we capture is mostly historical and won't reveal where somebody is and what they are doing on a real-time basis."
CNET reports lawmakers are stepping in to investigate the matter.
"Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) last week asked wireless companies and hardware makers to hand over information related to how they're using Carrier IQ data in their products or services. The companies were asked to furnish that data by tomorrow, but they have no legal requirement to do so," said Don Reisinger, CNET Blog Network writer.
The company went as far as releasing 19-page report of how Carrier IQ technology works, but that doesn't do enough to quell public concerns over their data privacy.
If any of these accusations are true, Americans have paid wireless carriers to give the government private data, such as web history, call logs and text history.
The dispute over privacy concerns began when Android developer Trevor Eckhart posted a video on YouTube showing the software Carrier IQ interacting oddly with his mobile phone activity. Eckhert alleged his keystrokes and data were being collected without his permission.
Speculation and accusations began flying immediately over what data Carrier IQ was collecting. Many believed the software was logging keystrokes and collecting sensitive data.
