Federal jury probing Apple and Google over smartphone apps

[Jagi]

Federal jury probing Apple and Google over smartphone apps

Uh-oh, looks like federal grand jury is probing both Apple and Google over certain popular smartphone applications. According to The Wall Street Journal, both companies were asked to provide basic data about certain third-party apps found on both the App Store and Android Market:

Apple Inc. and Google Inc., which oversee digital “stores” that offer mobile applications to users of iPhones, iPads and mobile-devices powered by Google’s Android software, have been asked to provide information about the applications and app makers, the person familiar with the matter said.

Federal prosecutors are reportedly sniffing because they heard certain apps don’t play by the rules and illegally obtain personal information without users’ consent, which is a a federal computer-fraud law. Market Watch first broke the news earlier today that online music service Pandora has been served a subpoena to produce documents, but the prosecutors informed them they were not a target of the investigation:

In early 2011, we were served with a subpoena to produce documents in connection with a federal grand jury, which we believe was convened to investigate the information sharing processes of certain popular applications that run on the Apple and Android mobile platforms. We believe that similar subpoenas were issued on an industry-wide basis to the publishers of numerous other smartphone applications.

 

[Drayonis]

I've been figuring this for a long time. Those apps have to be data mining.

 

[Jagi]

Federal prosecutors investigating Pandora, other smartphone apps over privacy concerns

Apps collecting users' information without their knowledge may not be anything new, but it's not everyday we see things rise to the level of Federal Grand Jury investigation. That happened today, however, with Federal prosecutors in New Jersey launching a probe to determine whether smartphone apps have been collecting personal information like an individual's location without being suitably up front about it. So far only Pandora and one independent developer have come forward and said they've received subpoenas, but Pandora says it believes the probe is an industry-wide one, and that it is "not a specific target of the investigation." As the Wall Street Journal notes, the investigation is also still only in the early stages and may well not result in any actual charges, but it seems to be extending beyond just the app makers themselves. A "person familiar with the matter" has told the Wall Street Journal that both Apple and Google have been asked to provide information on the apps and app makers in question, although neither is commenting on the matter publicly at the moment.

source Wall Street Journal