Apple approached US senate for the second time this week to testify on the “location tracking” row which has erupted over recent months.
It was discovered that Apple iOS on iPhone and iPad (3G models) was recording information regarding owner’s location and storing the information in a database file for regular reports back to Apple HQ. Apple has denied the claims.
Testifying and maintaining the company’s consistent stance, Apple’s VP of Global Affairs Catherine Novelli stated “Apple does not track users’ locations. Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so”
Also represented at the “Consumer Privacy and Protection in the Mobile Marketplace” hearing were Google, who’s Android platform was found to be caching similar information, with research indicating data grabbed by Google as frequently as on a weekly basis.
Big G also stood firm with their boss of Public Policy claiming “Google does not and cannot control the behaviour of third-party applications, or how they handle location information and other user information that the third-party application obtains from the device”
Seeming to turn a blind eye to what offending app makers are up to, the senate heard “Google does strongly encourage application developers to use best practices” – a little negligent we’d say.
The legal battles rage on..
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