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Facebook, Google and Apple Appear before Senate Subcommittee on Mobile Device Location Privacy Issues

2011-05-31/0 Comments/in General Security, Mobile Security/by admin

On May 19, Facebook, Google and Apple appeared before a Senate subcommittee on Capitol Hill lead by Senator John Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, and Senator John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, to discuss claims they are not adequately safeguarding their customers’ location privacy on mobile devices.

FCC, FTC to Hold Forum on Cell Phones Tracking Users

2011-05-31/0 Comments/in General Security, Mobile Security/by admin

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) plan a public forum next month on privacy concerns about cell phones and their ability to track the location of users.

The June 28 forum will include recommended best practices individuals can use to guard their privacy.

Facebook, Google and Apple Appear before Senate Subcommittee on Mobile Device Location Privacy Issues

2011-05-31/0 Comments/in General Security, Mobile Security/by admin

FCC, FTC to Hold Forum on Cell Phones Tracking Users

2011-05-31/0 Comments/in General Security, Mobile Security/by admin

The June 28 forum will include recommended best practices individuals can use to guard their privacy.

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Facebook, Google and Apple Appear before Senate Subcommittee on Mobile Device Location Privacy Issues

2011-05-31/0 Comments/in General Security, Mobile Security/by admin

This stems from an investigation by security researchers and the Wall Street Journal disclosing that these companies are tracking customers’ locations without their knowledge on cell phones and other mobile devices, such as the iPad and comparable devices on the market. The investigation by the Wall Street journal also revealed that about 50% of the 101 top mobile iPhone and Android apps gave out the location of the user without their consent.

Rockefeller, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation stated, “I think anyone who uses a mobile device has an expectation of privacy, and sadly that expectation is not always being met.”

At the hearing, both Senators called on Congress to pass new laws to protect smartphone customers from having their locations tracked. The bill would focus on Internet privacy giving customers more control over their data, as well as providing specific guidelines to protect consumers in an unregulated mobile app industry.

Kerry stated, “New rules protecting privacy on smartphones and on the Internet will create stronger consumer confidence in those industries.”

Strangely enough, a similar hearing conducted on May 10 by the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law by Chairman Al Franken, D-Minnesota, looked into the same issue of location and information privacy on mobile devices. Franken stated, “These breaches of privacy can have real consequences for real people.” He later stated, “I’ve realized that our federal laws do far too little to protect this information. Prosecutors bringing cases under the federal anti-hacking law often rely on breaches of privacy policies to make their case. But many mobile apps don’t have privacy policies. And some policies are so long and complicated that they’re almost universally dismissed without being read.”

Information privacy while on the Internet has always been and continues to be a large issue in the U.S. The recent popularity of smartphone apps has added to the complexity of the problem. Unfortunately, there isn’t much consumers can do at this time besides refraining from using some of these popular apps that are infringing on our privacy.

Does the convenience of mobile applications justify the sacrifice of our privacy?

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FCC, FTC to Hold Forum on Cell Phones Tracking Users

2011-05-31/0 Comments/in General Security, Mobile Security/by admin

The June 28 forum will include recommended best practices individuals can use to guard their privacy.

Google, Facebook and Apple are among the key participants in the FCC-FTC joint forum. Representatives from the telecommunications and technology industry also will participate, as well as various consumer and privacy advocacy groups and members from academia.

Discussion topics will include:

How location-based services work.
Benefits and risks.
Consumer DOs and DON’Ts.
Industry best practices.
What parents should know about location tracking.
when their children use mobile devices.

The forum will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT at the FCC Headquarters, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington DC 20554.

The joint forum may be a response by the FCC and FTC to two separate senate subcommittee hearings held earlier this month by the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law.

Those hearings came about due to an investigation by security researchers and the Wall Street Journal that found Google’s Android devices, Apple’s iPhones and other similar devices track customers’ locations without their knowledge. At the hearing, senators called on Congress to pass new laws to protect smartphone users from having their locations tracked without their consent.

In bringing awareness to this issue, the federal government is making a statement about the need to preserve some level of privacy in the digital age. Concern over security and privacy is growing as the Internet and mobile devices play larger and larger roles in our work and play.

African-Americans and Latinos may be most at risk, due to their increasing use of smartphones. According to a study by Pew Internet, part of the Pew Research Center, “African-Americans and English-speaking Latinos continue to be among the most active users of the mobile Web.” The study found African-Americans and Latinos are more likely to own cell phones, compared to white Americans, and they are more likely to use more features, such as Internet access.

People often see security and privacy as synonymous, though actually they are distinct. Information security means protecting information from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, modification or destruction. Information privacy is a claim by individuals that data about themselves should not be automatically available to others.

If you are interested in filing comments for the forum, you can use the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System via the Internet at http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/. Individuals may also submit electronic comments by e-mail.

To get filing instructions for e-mail comments, send an e-mail to ecfs@fcc.gov, and include the following words in the body of the message, “get form.” A sample form and directions will be sent in an e-mail reply.

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