[liberationtech] Carrier IQ

Thu Dec 1 10:01:51 PST 2011

Senator Al Franken as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Privacy Technology 
and the Law has sent a letter to CarrierIQ asking a number of very specific 
questions regarding user information and technical specifics. It will be  
interesting to read their response, if there is one.
A copy of the letter is available here:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2011/12/01/heres-the-letter-senator-al-franken-just-sent-to-phone-rootkit-firm-carrier-iq/

The full text of the letter:

Dear Mr. Lenhart,

I am very concerned by recent reports that your companybs  
softwarebpre-installed on smartphones used by millions of Americansbis  
logging and may be transmitting extraordinarily sensitive information from  
consumersb phones, including:

b"           when they turn their phones on;
b"           when they turn their phones off;
b"           the phone numbers they dial;
b"           the contents of text messages they receive;
b"           the URLs of the websites they visit;
b"           the contents of their online search queriesbeven when those  
searches are encrypted; and
b"           the location of the customer using the smartphonebeven when the 
customer has expressly denied permission for an app that is currently  
running to access his or her location.

It appears that this software runs automatically every time you turn your  
phone on.  It also appears that an average user would have no way to know  
that this software is runningband that when that user finds out, he or she  
will have no reasonable means to remove or stop it.

These revelations are especially concerning in light of Carrier IQbs public 
assertions that it is bnot recording keystrokes or providing tracking 
toolsb (November 16), b[d]oes not record your keystrokes,b and b[d]oes not 
inspect or report on the content of your communications, such as the 
content of emails and SMSsb (November 23).

I understand the need to provide usage and diagnostic information to  
carriers.  I also understand that carriers can modify Carrier IQbs 
software. But it appears that Carrier IQbs software captures a broad swath 
of extremely sensitive information from users that would appear to have 
nothing to do with diagnosticsbincluding who they are calling, the contents 
of the texts they are receiving, the contents of their searches, and the 
websites they visit.

These actions may violate federal privacy laws, including the Electronic  
Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.  This is  
potentially a very serious matter.

I ask that you provide answers to the following questions by December 14,  
2011.

(1)        Does Carrier IQ software log usersb location?

(2)        What other data does Carrier IQ software log?  Does it log:
a.         The telephone numbers users dial?
b.         The telephone numbers of individuals calling a user?
c.         The contents of the text messages users receive?
d.         The contents of the text messages users send?
e.         The contents of the emails they receive?
f.          The contents of the emails users send?
g.         The URLs of the websites that users visit?
h.         The contents of usersb online search queries?
i.          The names or contact information from usersb address books?
j.          Any other keystroke data?

(3)        What if any of this data is transmitted off of a usersb phone?  
When?  In what form?

(4)        Is that data transmitted to Carrier IQ?  Is it transmitted to  
smartphone manufacturers, operating system providers, or carriers?  Is it  
transmitted to any other third parties?

(5)        If Carrier IQ receives this data, does it subsequently share it  
with third parties?  With whom does it share this data?  What data is  
shared?

(6)        Will Carrier IQ allow users to stop any logging and transmission 
of this data?

(7)        How long does Carrier IQ store this data?

(8)        Has Carrier IQ disclosed this data to federal or state law  
enforcement?

(9)        How does Carrier IQ protect this data against hackers and other  
security threats?

(10)      Does Carrier IQ believe that its actions comply with the  
Electronic  Communications Privacy Act, including the federal wiretap  
statute (18 U.S.C. B' 2511 et seq.), the pen register statute (18 USC B' 3121 
et seq.), and the Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. B' 2701 et seq.)?

(11)      Does Carrier IQ believe that its actions comply with the Computer 
Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. B' 1030)?  Why?

I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,
AL FRANKEN
Chairman, Subcommittee on Privacy
Technology and the Law 

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