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Federal prosecutors investigating Pandora, other smartphone apps over privacy concerns
Apps collecting users' information without their knowledge may not be anything new, but it's not everyday we see things rise to the level of Federal Grand Jury investigation. That happened today, however, with Federal prosecutors in New Jersey launching a probe to determine whether smartphone apps have been collecting personal information like an individual's location without being suitably up front about it. So far only Pandora and one independent developer have come forward and said they've received subpoenas, but Pandora says it believes the probe is an industry-wide one, and that it is "not a specific target of the investigation." As the Wall Street Journal notes, the investigation is also still only in the early stages and may well not result in any actual charges, but it seems to be extending beyond just the app makers themselves. A "person familiar with the matter" has told the Wall Street Journal that both Apple and Google have been asked to provide information on the apps and app makers in question, although neither is commenting on the matter publicly at the moment.
Pandora says grand jury looking into Apple and Android apps
One of the most popular music services, Pandora, has revealed that a federal grand jury is examining information sharing by mobile apps. According to the Wall Street Journal, Pandora was served with a subpoena to produce documents relating to "information sharing processes of certain applications that run on the Apple and Android mobile platforms." A Pandora spokesperson says it does not "believe the company is a target of the investigation," and added "we believe that similar subpoenas were issued on an industry-wide basis to the publishers of numerous other smartphone applications." That would make sense -- if a grand jury were seeking information on what's shared in iOS, it would look at information from multiple developers, including Pandora. This latest action follows reports of a December class action suit against Apple and a number of App Store developers over the sharing of personal information with advertisers. Since grand jury proceedings are secret, it can't be determined if the two actions are related. [Via LoopInsight]
