Lawmakers question OS platform companies on ability to track user's location

Lawmakers stepped in to ask operating system companies how they are tracking, using, storing and sharing location information on smartphones after media reports that Apple Inc. (AAPL) automatically tracks and stores location data. While privacy issues have always been a concern in the mobile space, the ramifications become even bigger in a world where location-based advertising, geo-fencing and checking in on Facebook are commonplace.
Congressional representatives from the House Energy and Commerce Committee have sent letters to Apple, Google Inc., Nokia Corp., Research In Motion Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Co. seeking more information on how location information is used by mobile operating systems. Amid the congressional questions, there are published reports that at least two customers have sued Apple over the alleged tracking and regulators outside the United States also are looking into the matter.
Last week, Pete Warden and Alasdair Allan have put up a website that details how Apple is logging location information, including latitude and longitude of the iPhone’s coordinates, and a timestamp. The information is synched with iTunes as well, according to the men, who said it appears there is little that users can do to opt out or avoid the previously unknown feature altogether.
“By passively logging your location without your permission, Apple have made it possible for anyone from a jealous spouse to a private investigator to get a detailed picture of your movements,” Warden wrote on the site.
Congressional leaders are asking how and who can access the data; if it is automatically transferred to other devices or third parties; and whether users can delete or disable the tracking systems, among other things.
This isn’t the first time Apple has been accused of sharing personal information. A lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed against Apple Inc. in 2010 that accuses the company of allowing apps to transmit personal data to ad networks without users’ consent. The complaint charged that Apple’s Unique Device Identifier (UDID) can’t be blocked by users and some applications are using that mechanism to allow advertising networks to track downloads and app usage.