T-Mobile, other carriers named in Carrier IQ lawsuits

Three of the "big four" wireless carriers, including AT&T, Sprint and Bellevue-based T-Mobile, have been named in a new lawsuit that claims software embedded on many phones carried by the companies invades customers' privacy. The software is developed by Carrier IQ, a mobile intelligence firm that was slapped with two separate class-action suits last week. The company provides diagnostic software that can be installed on handsets to provide carriers and hardware manufacturers information to improve phone service. On its website, Carrier IQ says it gives "wireless carriers and handset manufacturers unprecedented insight into their customers' mobile experience." It's that "unprecedented insight" that has landed Carrier in some hot water, with plaintiffs claiming the company collects far more information than necessary, including "data about a user’s location, application use, Web browsing habits, videos watched, texts read and even the keys they press." Apple, HTC, Samsung and Motorola Mobility have also been named in the suits. Carrier IQ issued a statement last week to clarify the way it uses customer data from the software, which is installed on approximately 140 million mobile phones worldwide. The California company said any information collected is used to help operators determine why service problems are occuring, why calls are dropped and how to extend battery life. The company said the data it collects is determined by its customers and the software doesn't "record, store or transmit the contents of SMS messages, email, photographs, audio or video." "For example, we understand whether an SMS was sent accurately, but do not record or transmit the content of the SMS. We know which applications are draining your battery, but do not capture the screen," the company said in the statement. Some security experts have weighed in, including Rebecca Bace of Infidel, who said she believes "allegations of keystroke collection or other surveillance of mobile device user’s content are erroneous." The suit claims the software violates the Federal Wiretap Act, among others, and demands monetary compensation and a permanent injunction against installing software on cell phones that could track user data, reports Ars Technica. As mobile devices have proliferated, so have privacy concerns surrounding the use of customer data by software companies and hardware makers. A number of companies have been targeted in recent lawsuits claiming privacy violations, including Microsoft, Apple and HTC.