Tag Archive | "smart phone"
FCC Announces a Public Forum on Smartphone Location Tracking Systems
John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog, notes that the FCC is continuing an investigation into Google's past practice of sending fleets of specially equipped vehicles criss-crossing city streets in 30-plus nations to take photos for its mapping service -- and to collect data from Wi-Fi systems in homes and businesses.
Continue reading...iPhone and Android Users Face Many Companies Who Want To Know Where They Are
Sunday, May 1, 2011
A study by researchers at Intel Labs, Penn State and Duke University last year revealed that 15 of 30 popular Android apps send location data to advertisers — often without notifying users. “People don’t understand what’s going on with their data,” said John Simpson, director of consumer privacy at Consumer Watchdog. “It’s sort of being sucked up without their real knowledge.”
Continue reading...Apple Finally Acknowledges Hidden Tracking File On iPhones
Thursday, April 28, 2011
"They're trying to quell an understandable storm of concern," said John Simpson, director of the privacy project at Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group. But he added, "It sounds like they're going to continue doing a lot of stuff that is potentially problematic."
Continue reading...Jobs, Apple Issue Complex Denial of iPhone Tracking
Thursday, April 28, 2011
"Apple needs to do a lot more to explain what it has been doing and why, and a good start would be for Steve Jobs to appear at the hearing," says John Simpson, spokesman for Consumer Watchdog.
Continue reading...Legislators Eyeing Mobile Location-Based Data Collection Practices
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
“No one has really understood the extent of the data collection going on with these spy phones,” said John M. Simpson, Washington-based director of nonprofit Consumer Watchdog’s privacy project. “Last week, it started to become clear just how much was going on.”
Continue reading...Smartphone Privacy Fears Raised
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Still, the report on Google's data collection policy yesterday prompted advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, based in Washington, D.C., to ask for a law to ensure that phone users can choose not to be tracked. "These aren't smartphones, they are spy phones,'' said John Simpson, director of the group's privacy project.
Continue reading...Calls Fly Over Phones’ Tracking
Saturday, April 23, 2011
John M. Simpson, director of advocacy group Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project, said this is the latest sign there should be an online "do not track" list. "These aren't smartphones; they are spy phones," Simpson said. "The mobile world is the Wild West of the Internet where these tech giants seem to think anything goes."
Continue reading...New Revelations of Google, Apple Smartphone Data Snooping Show Need For Do Not Track Me Legislation, Consumer Watchdog Says
Friday, April 22, 2011
SANTA MONICA, CA – New details of how tech giants Google and Apple spy on users of their smartphones demonstrate the need for Do Not Track Me legislation that would cover mobile devices, Consumer Watchdog said today.
Continue reading...Smartphones Like Apple’s iPhone Hold Treasure Trove of Data on Users’ Lives
Friday, April 22, 2011
"These aren't smartphones -- they are spy phones," said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's Privacy Project. "Consumers must have the right to control whether their data is gathered and how it is used. People don't realize the absolute gold mine of data about their life that exists inside their smartphone," he added. "There really needs to be an educational process started so that people will begin to understand that."
Continue reading...Pandora Filing Suggests Federal Privacy Probe
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Privacy advocates welcomed the idea of a grand jury probe, saying consumers often had little information about how the apps they downloaded were sharing data collected from their mobile devices. "I think of them as spy phones, not smart phones," said John M. Simpson, director of Consumer Watchdog's privacy project.
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Thursday, May 19, 2011
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