Carrier IQ once again attempts to clean up image, withdraws threats
Carrier IQ released a statement on their website (and emailed it to us) today to 1) apologize to developer TrevE for misguided legal threats earlier in the week, 2) withdraw said threats, and 3) explain what the software does or does not do while giving a sales pitch.
It's nice to know that CIQ realizes now that threatening to sue someone into oblivion for pointing out that their software can be used for ill intent is not good PR. It incurred the insta-wrath of the EFF and thousands of pissed-off people who are saddled with the software and do not want it.
Perhaps next time they apologize, they'll offer an opt-out to their forced customers (us) rather than a one-paragraph apology followed by three-fourths of a page of CIQ PR and advertising.
I hope Sprint, HTC, and CIQ will do the right thing and just give unrooted people a way to remove the unwanted software before someone figures out how to task it with collecting our information and giving it to hackers, or before it's exploited and gives malicious programs root access.
They act as though it's a vital part of the phone, and it's not. If you're having problems making phone calls, sure, turn it on, and let it record, but don't force this down people's throats. It's not like the vast majority of the people out there would even try to remove it anyway.
