The Mobile Device Privacy Act proposed by Markey would require companies to obtain customer consent in order to install monitoring software. Companies must also disclose if a device has the software installed, what information it collects and transmits, to whom it’s being transmitted, and how the data is used.

However, the legislation is still in draft and not yet a formal bill. But should it make it into federal law, the FTC will have one year before requiring the disclosure from carriers and phone manufacturers, many of which have already dropped Carrier IQ amid the controversy.

[via Bloomberg]

“HTC can confirm that we’re working with Sprint to provide maintenance releases that will remove Carrier IQ and provide security enhancements and bug fixes beginning in January” the company said in a statement to The Verge today. No specific devices were cited, but the EVO 3D is believed to be one of the handsets affected by Carrier IQ tech.

Although initial outrage centered on the idea that Carrier IQ was sending private message details and other personally-identifiable information back to network operators, it eventually became clear that the truth was somewhat more complicated. Carrier IQ actually offers various tiers of monitoring, tracking not user-activity but how the handset works with the network.

Unfortunately by that point the system had been highlighted by at least one angry US senator, and a class-action lawsuit put together targeting Apple, Samsung and HTC.

Specs on the Nikon D4 DSLR camera surfaced this week and they look really good. The camera is rumored to have a 16.2MP sensor and native ISO up to 102,400. Word surfaced that the FBI might be using Carrier IQ software on handsets for low enforcement purposes. The FBI refused a Freedom of Information Act request and accidentally revealed that it might be using the software for investigations.

Modern Warfare 3 has set a record with $1 billion in total sales this week. That massive sales number was hit in only 17 days beating out the flick Avatar to reach the $1 billion mark. MIT has invented camera that is able to shoot photos at a trillion frames per second. The sensor is so fast that it can photograph the propagation of light.

CERN announced that is has found “tantalizing hints” of Higgs boson particles at the LHC. Papers outlining the discovery are expected by the end of January. The NTSB is proposing that all use of mobile phones be banned while driving. That would include the use of hands free devices which the NTSB says are just as dangerous as holding your phone.

American Airlines has received approval to use the iPad in the cockpit of aircraft during all phases of flight. The iPad has the flight manual and digital charts with weight savings compared to paper charts helping to save lots of money for the airline. Microsoft has been tipped to purchase the Nokia smartphone division in 1H 2012. I still don’t see that being a mix for success.

A proposal for redesigning the HP brand has surfaced from a company called Moving Brands. One of the things you can see in the proposal is a new logo that looks like straight lines, but reads HP. We went hands-on with the Prada phone by LG 3.0 this week after the fancy smartphone went official. Chris Davies was a bit “meh” on the smartphone after his time with the device.

We put up our review of the Motorola Droid Xyboard 10.1 this week. The tablet doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade on the Xoom that is already available. The Facebook Timeline went official all around the world this week. The Timeline allows you to set up a chronological outline of your world.

Remember that throwable Panoramic Ball camera from a while back? More details were released and the company is seeking investors to bring the device to market. Astronomers discovered a massive gas cloud that was being sucked into a black hole in the center of our galaxy. The cloud has more mass than Earth and will provide a glimpse into how matter reacts near a black hole.

Senator Al Franken grilled the FBI director on the use of Carrier IQ software this week. This came after hints early in the week that the FBI might be using it for law enforcement. An Iranian scientist bragged this week that Iran bagged a NATO drone using a GPS spoof. The Iranians tricked the drone into simply landing where they wanted it.

Davies noted this week that you had better be sure you like Timeline before you activate it. Once you have Timeline if you don’t like it there is no going back. Thanks for reading and have a Merry Christmas!

The response Franken received back from some of the larger carriers were disturbing to those concerned about privacy. In the response to Franken’s inquiry AT&T admitted that it had Carrier IQ installed on 900,000 handsets that were in consumer hands. However, AT&T claims that it only collects data from about 575,000 of those handsets.

Sprint, on the other hand, has 26 million handsets on the market running Carrier IQ software. The carrier maintains that while it has been using Carrier IQ since 2006 it only collects details on network and device performance. Sprint claims that it has never used data collected to serve targeted ads or for any other purpose than device and network performance. Sprint also claims that only about 5% of those 26 million devices are collecting data at any given time. About 30,000 are queried by Sprint personnel at any given time.

[via Computerworld]

For those of you new to this Carrier IQ party, the story is that this application sits on one whole HECK of a lot of smartphones out there today and records keystrokes on your device without you knowing it, sending that information then to the carrier your device is affiliated with. This is a real app and it’s really out there working right now — not everyone has it on their device, but chances are you’re one of the massive amount of users who does. This week FBI director Robert Mueller sat in front of a Senate Judiciary Committee which included Senator Al Franken.

Though the panel was meant for discussing the FBI in general, Senator Franken asked questions specifically on the Carrier IQ accusations. The FBI via Mueller made it clear the situation was how it was and that Carrier IQ was nowhere near their phonebook, when it came down to it. Mueller spoke thusly:

“We have neither sought nor obtained any information from Carrier IQ in any one of our investigations.” – Mueller

What that original FBI accusation contained was a mister Michael Morisy of Muckrock News filing a FOIA request for “manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ.” This then followed by the FBI denying that request on account of “a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding,” and that said documents release might “interfere with the enforcement proceedings.” From that, news groups took it all to the next level. Mueller continued:

“From that, it was extrapolated that perhaps we were obtaining information from Carrier IQ. As I said, we are not, have not, and do not have any information from Carrier IQ.” – Mueller

Similarly, a Carrier IQ spokesperson noted the following earlier this week:

“[Carrier IQ] has never provided any data to the FBI. … We are not under investigation. We sought the meetings with FCC and FTC in the interest of transparency and full disclosure, and to answer their questions.” – Carrier IQ

The Federal Trace Commission (FTC) is the US organization that protects consumer privacy and enforces privacy-related laws, and would be Carrier IQ’s primary foe if an investigation is undertaken. The company says it is “not aware of an official investigation into Carrier IQ at this time”; however, sources inside the FTC – who spoke anonymously as details have not been publicly announced yet – seemingly confirmed that an inquiry is, indeed, going ahead.

Carrier IQ made headlines in November, when security researchers discovered what appeared to be keypress logging in Android handsets. That logging and data collection was subsequently found across multiple platforms in devices distributed by various carriers, though the extent to which information was stored differed by handset.

The ensuing furore caught the attention of Congressman Edward J. Markey, who demanded an investigation into the software. Carrier IQ came out on the charm defensive, releasing a comprehensive FAQ detailing exactly what – and what not – was supposedly collected by its network monitoring tools. Nonetheless, many carriers themselves have been quick to put distance between them and the analytics firm.

“Carrier IQ has discovered that, due to this bug, in some unique circumstances, such as a when a user receives an SMS during a call, or during a simultaneous data session, SMS messages may have unintentionally been included in the layer 3 signaling traffic that is collected by the IQ Agent. These messages were encoded and embedded in layer 3 signaling traffic and are not human readable” Carrier IQ

Despite the flaw, Carrier IQ insists that the potential for privacy leaks is minimal. ”No multi-media messages (MMS), email, web, applications, photos, voice or video (or any content using the IP protocol) has been captured” the company insists, and the fault itself has been addressed.

The rest of the document details exactly what data Carrier IQ’s software can collect and what it can’t, though the exact extent of the collection is down to the operators themselves. “Carrier IQ has never intentionally captured or transmitted keystrokes and is not aware of any circumstances where this has occurred” the company concludes, reiterating that it “is not a keylogger and no customer has asked Carrier IQ to capture key strokes.”

Nonetheless, Carrier IQ should probably expect even more attention in the coming months, after it was revealed yesterday that the FBI has seemingly used some of the data collected in its investigations. The company is already the subject of a class-action lawsuit, and European regulators are looking into potential breaches of privacy law.

The Muckrock FOIA request asked the FBI for “manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ.” In response, the FBI denied any disclosures stating that any information it revealed could jeopardize ongoing investigations. Muckrock is seeking to appeal the FBI’s decision.

Although the FBI’s statement doesn’t confirm that it has indeed been scanning the data collected by Carrier IQ in any of its law enforcement proceedings, it appears that they do have something on file that could either affect current legal cases involving the use of the data or affect the current investigation of Carrier IQ.

Carrier IQ has denied that its software collects information like text messages or web browsing histories. This seems to be true according to analysis of the software by third-party security researchers. However, the software does log the phone’s dialer, URLs entered, and GPS locations.

[via Forbes]

According to Schmidt, the open nature of Android is being taken advantage of by Carrier IQ. He states that when a platform is open people can make software that is not good for users. Schmidt said, “Android is an open platform which means people can makes software for it that’s not very good for you.” Schmidt also said that with the open nature of Android there was nothing Google could have done to prevent Carrier IQ from getting information from Android users.

Schmidt was also very specific in that Google doesn’t work with Carrier IQ. He went so far as to call Carrier IQ an unacceptable keylogger. Carrier IQ software is at work on more than a hundred million handsets around the world and removal of the software means a complete wipe of the device by the user. Carrier IQ is currently under investigation by European regulators.

[via Telegraph]

The complaint accused the companies of violating the Federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Electronic Communications Act, and the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The filing asserted that the companies committed an “unprecedented breach in the digital privacy rights of 150 million cell phone users” and that the defendants, namely Apple, Samsung, HTC, and Motorola, pre-installed the Carrier IQ software on its cell phones for AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.

The controversy began last week when Trevor Eckhart discovered the Carrier IQ software to be running in the background on his HTC device. He alerted other users and noted that the software appeared to be logging every single user action on the device, including keystrokes and text messages.

Following the revelation, several manufacturers along with network operators have had to issue statements regarding the use of Carrier IQ. Apple, for one, has admitted to using Carrier IQ on its iOS devices, but assured that most of its iOS 5 devices no longer use the software and that future updates would completely remove it.

[via AppleInsider]

Regulators in Europe are looking into the software to ensure that the company isn’t violating the privacy of users. PCWorld reports that the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection has sent a letter to Apple to ask if the company is using the software. The data protection office wants to be sure that the customers and users of smartphones are aware of how their data is collected and used.

Other regulators investigating the use of the Carrier IQ software include the UK Information Commissioner’s Office and the European Consumers Organization. The UK organizations are looking to be sure the private information of UK citizens is being used appropriately.

[via PCWorld]

“What the video is depicting is the application printing out what are known as bugging logs. It’s a way that applications keep a temporary record of the things they were doing so if anything were to break, a developer could go and read that record and figure out what went wrong. That’s very different from the application actually recording that information and sending it off to the carrier” Andrew Coward, VP of marketing, Carrier IQ

As Carrier IQ paints it, its data nets only catch certain preconfigured error codes in data from a cellphone, depending on the extent of the information its carrier customer wants to collect. That could be merely a list of how many SMS messages fail – with no record of the actual text in those messages – or a daily list of what applications are being used. Much of the discarding process happens on the phone itself, Coward says, before it ever reaches Carrier IQ’s servers. “Our mantra has always been to throw away as much information as early as possible” he claims, “throw away what you don’t need on the handset first.”

“The content of SMS messages are never logged. There are two things that happen when SMS messages are received. One is, obviously, we count them, the ones that succeed, the ones that fail. We do also record the telephone numbers the SMSs are from and to. So for example, if you send and SMS to me and it fails, you want to be able to work out did it not leave your phone, was it a communication problem with the tower, did it somehow not get to me in the last mile. This is a two-way conversation. You need the know both ends of the chain to understand. The content of the SMS is never stored and never transmitted” Andrew Coward, Carrier IQ

Operators themselves have in many cases jumped to distance themselves from Carrier IQ and any suggestion of data collection, with Verizon, Rogers, Vodafone UK, O2 UK and others all joining manufacturers and platform creators including RIM, Google, Microsoft, Nokia and others in denying any involvement. On the flipside, Apple has said it previously loaded Carrier IQ tech - but will strip out what little remains in the near future – while Samsung and HTC are now the subject of a wiretapping suit. At least one detection app for Android has been spawned.

Ironically, while Carrier IQ is now being put under the microscope by Senator Al Franken and, potentially, the FTC, the information it passes to networks themselves is probably less than they already know.  ”The other thing to think about is that while you potentially jump through all these hoops, the operators themselves are going to have all this information one way or another” Carrier IQ’s Andrew Coward points out, referring to the fact that text messages, calls and other information already passes through the network operators’ systems. Whether that will placate angry users and lawmakers remains to be seen.

The controversy started when Android user Trevor Eckhart began alerting other users of what he discovered to be a data tracking software pre-installed on his HTC Android smartphone. This Carrier IQ software could allegedly track keystrokes, which could include passwords and text messages.

The revelation caused several major smartphone manufacturers and carriers to issue statements regarding their involvement, with many either denying use of the software or explaining plans to discontinue use of it. Apple, for one, admitted that its previous generation iOS platforms use Carrier IQ, but that most of its iOS 5 devices do not and that future updates would completely remove it.

For all recent updates on developments in the Carrier IQ controversy, you can follow along here.

[via Reuters]

The use of Carrier ID tracking software by Samsung and HTC has landed the two companies along with Carrier IQ itself at the center of a wiretapping lawsuit. There have been class action suits filed in Chicago and St. Louis that are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of all the folks in the US that had phones that ran the software.

Carrier IQ still maintains that its software is only used to help carriers improve their service. The security researcher that discovered the software posted video allegedly showing the Carrier IQ software recording keystrokes and more.

[via PaidContent]

BlackBerry devices were among the original crop of phones tipped to use Carrier IQ software, back when developer T.Eckhard first publicized the presence of the privacy-bothering tool. He claimed the RIM smartphones would send back detailed usage information without the owner’s permission or knowledge, over either WiFi or cellular data connections, which carriers would use as part of their market research and network management.

That, RIM now says, it’s patently untrue – at least as far as its own phones are concerned – and will continue investigations into any evidence otherwise. The company’s full statement is below.

RIM Statement:

“RIM is aware of a recent claim by a security researcher that an application called “CarrierIQ” is installed on mobile devices from multiple vendors without the knowledge or consent of the device users. RIM does not pre-install the CarrierIQ app on BlackBerry smartphones or authorize its carrier partners to install the CarrierIQ app before sales or distribution. RIM also did not develop or commission the development of the CarrierIQ application, and has no involvement in the testing, promotion, or distribution of the app. RIM will continue to investigate reports and speculation related to CarrierIQ.”

As you can see from the screenshot above – taken on our Galaxy Nexus today – Google’s latest smartphone doesn’t have any evidence of Carrier IQ, just as the company insisted. We also run it on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, with no sign of Carrier IQ software on there either.

supercurio has offered up the source code under an open-source license for those who want to help refine the tool, so we’re guessing the rough edges and reliability will be polished off in short order.

Of course, it’s not just Android devices that are potentially using the data-gathering app. Apple has admitted that Carrier IQ is partially present in iOS 5, while other companies and carriers have been quick to distance themselves from the furore. More on the original issue here.

[via Engadget]

We do not have an affiliation with CarrierIQ. Android is an open source effort and we do not control how carriers or OEMs customize their devices.

After having being found on numerous handsets currently offered on the market, Carrier IQ news has basically blown up this past week. While Verizon has claimed that Carrier IQ isn’t installed on their devices, Apple, RIM, Nokia, Windows Mobile, and most Android devices do indeed show evidence of the tracking software. Do SlashGear readers own any of the aforementioned smartphone devices? Which ones? Have you found the Carrier IQ tracking software on your device yet?

RIM, Nokia, HP, and now, finally Google are all striving to distance themselves from Carrier IQ. To reiterate, on the carrier end, Verizon has disclaimed usage of the software for tracking purposes, while Sprint claims that it uses the software for “network performance maintenance” only. We wonder what kind of network performance maintenance required user device tracking. But nevertheless, we’ll keep you updated if more Carrier IQ news emerges soon.

[via The Verge]

Turn your speakers down to basically zero and head to this site to see what this fight is about to equate to: http://dreddlaw.ytmnd.com/ then cross your fingers and hope that Franken’s camp can actually get some real answers out of Carrier IQ, because thus far noone else has. What we’ve been hearing today, on the other hand, is simply all of those groups NOT using Carrier IQ coming forward to show their innocence in the matter. What this could mean though is that even though Carrier IQ isn’t doing anything illegal, the brands that have come forward today are using the opportunity to make their opponents look bad by using the group in question at this very moment.

The list thus far:
Verizon (near bottom of post)
Nokia, Nexus, iPhone
Rogers, Vodafone, O2
Apple, iOS 5
Microsoft, Windows Phone 7

Now what Franken is doing here is making sure we’re all defended against forces that would use our keystrokes without giving us proper warning or any choice in the matter at all by sending this list of demands to Carrier IQ right this second. Have a look at a piece of the letter right here first:

“[I]t appears the software captures a broad swath of extremely sensitive information from users that would appear to have nothing to do with diagnostics—including who they are calling, the contents of the texts they are receiving, the contents of their searches and the websites they visit.

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.” – Franken

UPDATE: you can either feel free to read the rest of the letter on Franken’s website here in PDF format: 111201_Letter_to_CarrierIQ.pdf or read in full in the quote below. Stay tuned, America!

Dear Mr. Lenhart,

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, including:

• when they turn their phones on;
• when they turn their phones off;
• the phone numbers they dial;
• the contents of text messages they receive;
• the URLs of the websites they visit;
• the contents of their online search queries—even when those searches are encrypted; and
• the location of the customer using the smartphone—even when the customer has expressly denied permission for an app that is currently running to access his or her location.

It appears that this software runs automatically every time you turn your phone on. It also appears that an average user would have no way to know that this software is running—and that when that user finds out, he or she will have no reasonable means to remove or stop it.

These revelations are especially concerning in light of Carrier IQ’s public assertions that it is “not recording keystrokes or providing tracking tools” (November 16), “[d]oes not record your keystrokes,” and “[d]oes not inspect or report on the content of your communications, such as the content of emails and SMSs” (November 23).

I understand the need to provide usage and diagnostic information to carriers. I also understand that carriers can modify Carrier IQ’s software. But it appears that Carrier IQ’s software captures a broad swath of extremely sensitive information from users that would appear to have nothing to do with diagnostics—including who they are calling, the contents of the texts they are receiving, the contents of their searches, and the websites they visit.

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.

I ask that you provide answers to the following questions by December 14, 2011.

(1) Does Carrier IQ software log users’ location?

(2) What other data does Carrier IQ software log? Does it log:

a. The telephone numbers users dial?
b. The telephone numbers of individuals calling a user?
c. The contents of the text messages users receive?
d. The contents of the text messages users send?
e. The contents of the emails they receive?
f. The contents of the emails users send?
g. The URLs of the websites that users visit?
h. The contents of users’ online search queries?
i. The names or contact information from users’ address books?
j. Any other keystroke data?

(3) What if any of this data is transmitted off of a users’ phone? When? In what form?

(4) Is that data transmitted to Carrier IQ? Is it transmitted to smartphone manufacturers, operating system providers, or carriers? Is it transmitted to any other third parties?

(5) If Carrier IQ receives this data, does it subsequently share it with third parties? With whom does it share this data? What data is shared?

(6) Will Carrier IQ allow users to stop any logging and transmission of this data?

(7) How long does Carrier IQ store this data?

(8) Has Carrier IQ disclosed this data to federal or state law enforcement?

(9) How does Carrier IQ protect this data against hackers and other security threats?

(10) Does Carrier IQ believe that its actions comply with the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, including the federal wiretap statute (18 U.S.C. § 2511 et seq.), the pen register statute (18 USC § 3121 et seq.), and the Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. § 2701 et seq.)?

(11) Does Carrier IQ believe that its actions comply with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1030)? Why?

I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

AL FRANKEN
Chairman, Subcommittee on Privacy
Technology and the Law

The controversy began when Carrier IQ was discovered on Android devices, which led to investigating its existence on other platforms such as iOS and Windows. Apple had admitted earlier today that its older generation iOS platforms do indeed use Carrier IQ but that most of its iOS 5 devices no longer support the software. The company also assures that future updates would completely remove the software.

Nokia also issued a statement earlier today denying the use of Carrier IQ on its devices, and similarly, Microsoft is saying the same. Via a Twitter message, Head of Microsoft’s Windows Phone Program Management Joe Belfiore confirmed that Carrier IQ was not supported on Windows Phone devices. “Since people are asking—Windows Phones don’t have CarrierIQ on them either,” said Belifore. Microsoft will likely issue a formal statement later today to confirm this matter.

[via WinRumors]

The controversy was tipped off in late November, when an Android user began warning other users about a little known software he discovered pre-installed on handsets that could track user data. The data-collection company behind the software, Carrier IQ, then threatened legal action but has since retracted its cease-and-desist. But that got the snowball rolling with several companies having to issue clarifications, including Verizon, Vodafone, Rogers, O2, and Nokia.

Carrier IQ had allegedly inked deals with the major handset manufacturers and carriers to provide this data collection service for the purpose of diagnosing service issues, such as dropped calls, battery problems, and any other network issues to help make customer service more efficient. Reports claimed that the data collected could be as much as every keystroke, although Carrier IQ has strongly denied this.

Reliable sources from the Verge insist that the original Nexus One, Nexus S, and the most recent Galaxy Nexus as well as the Motorola XOOM tablet are all clean from the Carrier IQ software, but that there is evidence that iOS was utilizing the software. Apple has finally stepped out with their own statement as follows:

We stopped supporting CarrierIQ with iOS 5 in most of our products and will remove it completely in a future software update. With any diagnostic data sent to Apple, customers must actively opt-in to share this information, and if they do, the data is sent in an anonymous and encrypted form and does not include any personal information. We never recorded keystrokes, messages or any other personal information for diagnostic data and have no plans to ever do so.

[via AllThingsD]