Carrier IQ May Face FTC Investigation

Carrier IQ, makers of the once-covert mobile device monitoring software, continues to receive scrutiny from the U.S government. On Wednesday, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) sent a letter to Larry Lenhart—Carrier IQ’s CEO and President—inquiring about how the software and data collected was being used. Now U.S. Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) has asked the FTC to invesigate whether Carrier IQ has violated the privacy rights of millions of mobile phone users. From Reuters:

“Consumers and families need to understand who is siphoning off and storing their personal information every time they use their smart phone,” Markey said in a statement.

[…]

In a letter to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, Markey asked the agency to investigate this under its mandate to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive acts or practices.

I wonder if the FTC will also look into Carrier IQ’s customers, which include AT&T, Sprint, HTC and—at one time—Apple.