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FBI denies request for documents on cellphone-tracking app
The FBI has denied a news website’s request to release information related to its use of Carrier IQ, a controversial cellphone-tracking software.
The FBI denied the Freedom of Information Act request from Muckrock News, acknowledging it has records on the use of Carrier IQ but arguing they are exempt from disclosure because they are related to “a pending or prospective law enforcement proceeding.”
“Carrier IQ have no rights to the data gathered and have not passed data to third parties,” she said. “Should a law enforcement agency request data from us, we would refer them to the network operators. To date and to our knowledge we have received no such requests.”
The software first made headlines last month when Trevor Eckhart, a systems administrator in Connecticut, posted a video claiming to show that Carrier IQ, which is embedded in millions of Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones, tracks users’ every key stroke.
Eckhart said the software could collect the phone numbers consumers dial, the contents of their text messages, the websites they visit, their search queries and even their locations.
Lawmakers including Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have called for an investigation of the technology.
Carrier IQ said its software is designed to help companies ensure their phones are operating effectively and does not transmit any personal information.
“While a few individuals have identified that there is a great deal of information available to the Carrier IQ software inside the handset, our software does not record, store or transmit the contents of SMS messages, email, photographs, audio or video,” the company said in a news release earlier this month. “For example, we understand whether an SMS was sent accurately, but do not record or transmit the content of the SMS. We know which applications are draining your battery, but do not capture the screen.”
— Updated with response from Carrier IQ at 12:44 p.m.
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