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* You may have heard by now that Attorney General Lisa Madigan sent a letter to Apple and Google about their location data collection practices…
llinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is asking Apple and Google to explain why their mobile devices — Google’s Android smartphones and Apple’s iPad and iPhones — collect and store detailed data about their users’ locations in ways that can be mapped, easily accessed and kept for long periods.
“It’s important that these companies ensure that their users’ private information is protected,” Madigan said in a letter asking to meet with Apple and Google executives.
Apple has remained silent, while Google said users get pop-up notices that allow them to turn off location-information sharing.
“All location sharing on Android is opt-in by the user,” according to the Google statement. “We provide users with notice and control over the collection, sharing and use of location in order to provide a better mobile experience on Android devices.”
* But some of Google’s denials are suspect…
Google acknowledged today that it collects location information from Android devices, but downplayed concerns about privacy by saying the information is not “traceable to a specific user.”
That claim, it turns out, depends on the definition of “traceable.”
According to detailed records provided to CNET by a security researcher, Android phones regularly connect to Google.com and disgorge a miniature data dump that includes time down to the millisecond, current and recent GPS coordinates, nearby Wi-Fi network addresses, and two 16-letter strings representing a device ID that’s unique to each phone.
“It’s not tied to a user,” says Samy Kamkar, who provided the Android connection logs to CNET. “But it is a unique identifier to that phone that never changes unless you do a factory reset.”
* AdWeek fills us in on some of the latest developments…
Last week’s discovery that Apple’s iPhone and Google phones track their users’ locations sparked outrage and led to questions about what the data is being used for. Now, the New York Times is reporting that the location data collection is being used not only to improve the accuracy of maps and navigation services, but also for advertising purposes.
Location data is highly sought after for use by advertisers who want to target customers in a particular place, since location-based ads are much more lucrative than other ads. “Google envisions a world where even a small business can promote products to consumers nearby on a mobile device,” said Alistair Goodman, CEO of location-based advertising company Placecast. “That is a massive market.” And according to the Times, the market is so massive that Google and Apple have both been willing to push the envelope on privacy to collect user information.
* Congress is getting involved, and a lawsuit has already been filed in Florida…
In the suit, the pair, who seek punitive damages and injunctive relief, cite research from Alasdair Allen and Pete Warden about the tracking files found within iOS as the source for Apple’s collection techniques.
“Users of Apple’s iPhones and iPads, including Plaintiffs, were unaware of Apple’s tracking their locations and did not consent to such tracking,” the suit claims. “Apple collects the location information covertly, surreptitiously and in violations of law.”
The suit faults Apple specifically for not disclosing that the iOS software records “comprehensive” location data in its iTunes Terms of Service, nor offering end users informed consent of the practice.
“If Apple wanted to track the whereabouts of each of its products’ users, it should have obtained specific, particularized informed consent such that Apple consumers across America would not have been shocked and alarmed to learn of Apple’s practices in recent days,” the suit says.
* But Apple and Google aren’t alone…
Windows Phone 7, supported by manufacturers including Dell, HTC, LG, Nokia, and Samsung, transmits to Microsoft a miniature data dump including a unique device ID, details about nearby Wi-Fi networks, and the phone’s GPS-derived exact latitude and longitude.
A Microsoft representative was not immediately able to answer questions that CNET posed this afternoon, including how long the location histories are stored and how frequently the phone’s coordinates are transmitted over the Internet. Windows Phone currently claims about a 6 percent market share but, according to IDC, will capture about 21 percent by 2015 thanks to Microsoft’s partnership with Nokia.
Microsoft does say, however, that location histories are not saved directly on the device. That’s different from Apple’s practice of recording the locations of visible cell towers on iPhone and iPad devices, which can result in more than a year’s worth of data being quietly logged. Google’s approach, by contrast, records only the last few dozen locations on Android phones.
* And, of course, the coppers have apparently been aware of this for awhile now…
Law enforcement agencies have known since at least last year that an iPhone or iPad surreptitiously records its owner’s approximate location, and have used that geolocation data to aid criminal investigations. […]
One concern is the circumstances under which law enforcement can gain access to location histories. Courts have been split on whether warrants are required to peruse files on gadgets after an arrest, with police typically arguing that the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition on unusual searches doesn’t apply. (The Justice Department under the Obama administration, in a series of prosecutions including one in Nebraska involving a crack cocaine dealer, has taken the same position.)
In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has publicly asserted the right to copy all data from anyone’s electronic devices at the border–even if there’s no suspicion of or evidence for illegal activity. The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has blessed the practice.
All of this has led to a spike in law enforcement interest in the topic
Discuss.
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:19 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
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Google and Apple should just tell Lisa they’re tracking gun owners.
Come on, too easy.
Comment by just sayin' Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:26 am
Just another reason to get a “dumb” phone.
Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:28 am
JS will be here all week, folks. Don’t forget to tip your waitress!
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:28 am
Just another reason I will be sticking with my Newton!
– MrJM
Comment by MrJM Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:30 am
Many of the cool apps that delight people probably rely, to some extent, on the tracking. The same person who is “shocked, shocked!” that their phone is tracking their location is probably equally upset when the phone can’t give them directions to and a review of a nearby restaurant.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:36 am
Good ol’ Lisa “Pile on for the Press Release” Madigan….always looking out for Illinois residents. Except when it comes to that pesky ‘balanced budget’ part of the Illinois Constitution.
Elliot Spitzer she ain’t.
Comment by Leroy Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:45 am
I downloaded my GPS history from my iPhone and looked at the information. As one may expect, the GPS data only locates you within a couple of hundred feet of your location. In rural environments, this can be quite accurate, but in densely packed urban environments, it pretty much just shows what neighborhood you’re in.
That said, Apple and Google and Windows storing this type of information should be disallowed. And just putting some disclaimer where you have to click OK ain’t enough. Who really reads that stuff anyway.
There is also a matter of convenience involved here too, which must be weighed against the privacy concerns. Whenever you geolocate yourself, either for tagging photos or finding a local restaurant, by necessity you are allowing an app to record your GPS coordinates. What is then done with the information is at issue.
Will smartphone OS and app manufacturers. make the case that since you are allowing geolocation, by necessity, the information is in the phone for perpetuity? And is the only way to assure privacy is to disallow all GPS functionality, thereby taking away one of the prime uses of the smartphone?
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:46 am
Couldn’t Madigan have worked the phrase “Never again” into her release? That’s been going gangbusters recently.
Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:48 am
===Except when it comes to that pesky ‘balanced budget’ part of the Illinois Constitution.===
I’ve been over this before. C’mon.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:51 am
I guess Lisa Madigan sees this as a nice issue to use so she won’t have to explain why her office has ignored it’s responsibility to protect Illinois taxpayers from fraudulent workers comp claims
Comment by Fed up Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:51 am
Can we track legislators???
Comment by Springfield Skeptic Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 10:59 am
seems appropriate for Congress to look into, but seems a poor use of time for our AG, though it does give her something to brag about if/when she runs for senate.
Comment by Robert Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:14 am
Poor Orwell, everyone seems to disregard his vision for a great soceity….
Lets just ship free iphones to mexico and use real time tracking to police the border.
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:15 am
Where do I file my FOIA request to get the GPS data for government-issued phones?
The Mayor’s office alone pays $42K a year for cell phones.
It would be AWESOME to set up a live tracking system for all elected officials.
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:21 am
Pot, on the iPhone you can turn data services (GPS) on or off, but you can’t turn off this undercover location tracking.
Comment by Aaron Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:24 am
If you don’t like being tracked, then don’t get a smart phone.
Even regular ‘dumb’ cell phones are / can be tracked unless you go into the settings and set the phone setting / location to “E911 Only”. If you use that setting, then the GPS info is only sent during a 911 call … the phone lights up like the 4th of July to tell you it is sending E-911 location information. But the fact is the telcos can still track your phone by triangulating the signals from the cell phone towers … it’s just a bit more work.
Someone mentioned photos; a lot of digital photos from cell / smart phones automatically embed geotracking information in the photos. Any photos you put on the web might be able to be used to locate / identify / track you.
Should I even start the whole Google Earth photo of your house and street discussion? I won’t because it has been covered in other places on the web.
As Rich mentioned, the whole issue of “law enforcement” being able to search and seize your location information is another discussion point. I don’t think they should be able to without ‘reasonable cause’, ie, enough facts to be able to get a search warrant. However, the courts mostly disagree with me. On yesterday’s “gun topic of the day” Rich and others questioned if some of us were a bit paranoid about our government. Yes, we are and should be … and it’s not only government but what the private sector can do with all the data we leave floating around. Quite often, between your credit / debit card usage, cell phone usage, etc. the private sector knows even more about you than the government does.
I will mention the Electronic Freedom Foundation, which has formally been around since 1990. You can think of them as the computer ages rough equivalent of the ACLU.
As to Lisa’s and other government actions against Apple, Google, etc. I say good for them …even if it is detracting from other issues. Digital privacy is an important issue in the long run and technology has been outrunning / outreaching the existing law for the last 20 - 30 years.
Comment by Retired Non-Union Guy Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:26 am
–Can we track legislators??? –
Scott Walker and Mitch Daniels are asking the same thing.
Comment by Jimmy CrackCorn Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:27 am
At least this is a better use of the AG office than whining about colorful cans of beer.
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:33 am
===Rich and others questioned if some of us were a bit paranoid about our government.===
No. I questioned the sanity of those who thought our government was preparing to exterminate gun owners.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:34 am
===If you don’t like being tracked, then don’t get a smart phone.===
Why should I have to make that choice?
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:35 am
I like Lisa, but, this is stupid.
I have an Android phone and an iPad. So many of the apps for these devices use geolocation services for important features. For example, I use Evernote, it tags any photos I send to it from my phone with the location they were taken at. It is a FEATURE that is listed on the product description. The products that allow you to scan a barcode and get competitive local pricing of course use this feature. When I open Google maps it centers on my location.
Now, people are shocked that our phones are tracking our locations. People have this issue backwards. Everyhing we do in the computer age results in data being created about us, use an ATM and the bank knows where you are, same with a tollway transponder. The real issue is what do people do with the data. Raise a complaint if there is any indication that Google, Apple or Microsoft are using the data inappropriately. Data doesn’t cause privacy issues, misuese of data does
Comment by JimF Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:42 am
“It’s important that these companies ensure that their users’ private information is protected,”
Gee, that’s not even close to what she said about FOID card holders…So which does she want??
Comment by Razer Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:44 am
===Now, people are shocked that our phones are tracking our locations.===
I’m fully aware of the GPS capabilities for apps. What upsets me is that they’re keeping a secret record of all my movements.
Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:46 am
My mother had her Facebook and Yahoo accounts captured. I helped her contact Madigan’s office since the hackers were trying to deceive people out of money. E.g. stuck in a hotel in the UK.
Madigan’s policy is to not lift a finger unless Google, Yahoo or Facebook (all California companies) ask her to.
Madigan may be on the side of the angels on the current date collection case, but instead of seeking headlines, I’d rather she put more effort into ho-hum cases like my mother’s.
One of the excuses used by Madigan’s office was that the hackers might be in another country. Maybe they were. But until you check, you don’t know if they are locals. It’s pretty annoying to see someone logged into Mom’s Facebook account and know that law enforcement isn’t even going to get the IP address of the hacker.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:51 am
Rich, would you rather the records be public?
Back when liberals were raising questions and concerns about the Patriot Act, I remember mainstream/establishment types giving the old, “well, if you’re not doing anything wrong…” line.
Why is this invasion of privacy different than the various whacky things the government has already gotten away with?
Oh, it effects people who are affluent and get new gadgets.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:56 am
Can’t you simply turn off your smart phone when you’re playing hooky or whatever?
Modern problems. It won’t be long until we have chips implanted in each of us that serve as our mobile phones and geo-locators. Good for parents and cops, bad for privacy lovers.
I think it’s way past time we learned how much info we’re inadvertantly sharing with our cellular overlords.
Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:58 am
For at least three years I’ve been hearing foreign friends positively irate about Homeland Security’s policy that they can download ALL the data on a passenger’s laptop or phones for no reason whatsoever during a border crossing.
Has only happened to one of the foreign visitors I know of, but almost all of them are amazed that the land of the free allows this to happen to anybody without a warrant. iPhone and Android tracking logs are only a tip of the iceberg when it comes to public/private contempt for data privacy.
Comment by Chicago Bars Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 11:59 am
=== Gee, that’s not even close to what she said about FOID card holders…So which does she want?? ====
What are you talking about? are you seriously compairing the release of names on public records to tracking your physicial location, tracking the wifi networks you contact and use etc?
You do know that drivers licenseinfromation and names, property tax records, addresses, names and tax amounts etc are all released and made available to the public….
But is appleaes and orangesto tracking and logging my whereabouts at all times not to mention my wifi connections.
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 12:06 pm
Lisa is finally working.
Comment by Boscobud Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 12:07 pm
Technology is doing a lot to kill off aspects of life we thought were private.
My phone company knows where I am. My bank and credit card companies probably have a good idea of what I’m buying. I have no idea what Comcast might know about my TV and internet habits, but it’s probably a lot. Most computers are littered with tracking cookies.
Thanks to social media, employers feel free to scrutinize people’s lives and opinions that have no real relevance to their jobs- engaging in what I think is pretty much equivalent to eavesdropping on conversations between friends at a bar.
But we all seem pretty tolerant of companies keeping track of so much about us.
Comment by Elmhurst Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 12:08 pm
Ghost,
GPS satellites are owned by the U.S. government. Any number of other items that the government knows are not disclosed. So I would noted that it is not apples and oranges, but a difference in degree and viewpoint. The underlying issue is the same.
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 12:12 pm
@MrJM: A fellow devotee of the old ways. Do you have issues with the date rolling over this year too? Mine won’t work with 2011 dates properly anymore. Might be time to upgrade…after 15+ years.
Comment by UIS Liberal Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 3:56 pm
===Lisa is finally working.===
===At least this is a better use of the AG office than whining about colorful cans of beer.===
http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2011_02/20110217.html
So… that pretty much puts that nonsense to rest.
===Elliot[sic] Spitzer she ain’t.===
Yeah, if only Lisa Madigan had the integrity of Eliot Spitzer. Your Eliot, but with two L’s, must be different from this guy:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/10/nyregion/10cnd-spitzer.html
Rich, I’ll send you an invoice for my janitorial services on this thread.
Comment by Obamarama Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 4:41 pm
Yes, Obamarama, thank God you’re finally here to provide the AG cover for her ridiculous beer can position!
And certainly, press releases from the AG’s office are the single, definitive sources of all the things the AG does. I’ll bet we could find such releases from Blago, too. And understand this, I am not comparing the AG (who appears to be a decent public servant) with Blago other than to use it as an illustration it doesn’t matter a whit what the a hack in the press shop says.
Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:08 pm
Dude, the press release outlines the receipts of the AG’s office. A billion in 2010, $7 billion in the last seven years. Not a bad return on her office’s measly budget appropriation. That information is public. So, yeah, in this case, it does matter what the press release says.
===I’ll bet we could find such releases from Blago, too. And understand this, I am not comparing the AG (who appears to be a decent public servant) with Blago===
Sentence 1: Comparing the AG to Blago.
Sentence 2: Declaring that you didn’t just compare the AG to Blago?
Say hi to Alice for me while you’re in Wonderland.
Comment by Obamarama Tuesday, Apr 26, 11 @ 5:48 pm