US Senate launches investigation into Carrier IQ
Pardon my French, but it looks like the sh*t has really hit the fan for Carrier IQ. Thanks to the enterprising work of Android developer and security analyst Trevor Eckhart (who's only 25, by the way), Senator Al Franken (chairman of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law) has sent a letter to Carrier IQ President and CEO Larry Lenhart inquiring about the nature of its software, and why the company seems to be lying through their teeth.
Franken writes: "I am very concerned by recent reports that your company's software – pre-installed on smartphones used by millions of Americans – is logging and may be transmitting extraordinarily sensitive information from consumers' phones … It also appears that an average user would have no way to know that this software is running – and that when the user finds out, he or she will have no reasonable means to remove or stop it. … These actions may violate federal privacy laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This is potentially a very serious matter."
You can read the full text of the letter below, which includes a list of all the allegations made by Trevor Eckhart himself, as well as a long list of questions that Carrier IQ is required to answer by December 14.
This story is starting to get even juicier.
[US Senate] Thanks, Timmy!
