Senator Al Franken (D-MN) has stepped up his pressure on Apple CEO Steve Jobs, announcing on Monday that he will hold hearings on the recent revelation that Apple iPhones and iPads are secretly tracking and storing their users’ locations.
“The same technology that has given us smartphones, tablets, and cell phones has also allowed these devices to gather extremely sensitive information about users, including detailed records of their daily movements and location,” Franken, Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, said in a statement posted on his website.
“This hearing is the first step in making certain that federal laws protecting consumers’ privacy-particularly when it comes to mobile devices-keep pace with advances in technology,” he added.
Franken said he has invited representatives from Apple and Google to attend the hearing, titled, “Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy.” The hearing is scheduled for May 10.
Last week, O’Reilly Radar broke a story that Apple devices had been secretly tracking the latitude and longitude of their users, complete with a timestamp. Incensed, Franken then wrote a strongly worded letter to Jobs demanding answers about the program which he said, “raises serious privacy concerns.”
