German regulators seek details on Apple's use of Carrier IQ
Apple has already made a statement on the company's use of Carrier IQ, saying that "We stopped supporting Carrier IQ [a piece of software that tracks user activity] with iOS 5 in most of our products, and we're going to remove it completely in a future software update." Apparently that's not good enough for The Bavarian State Authority for Data Protection.
The German data regulator requested today that Apple provide more information about the software and its use. Apple's statement yesterday noted that its use of Carrier IQ was limited to "diagnostic information" and was opt-in only. iOS users who have recently set up iOS 5 devices may remember the request to allow your device to send diagnostic and usage information to Apple. If you are currently sending data and wish to opt out, just go to General > About > Diagnostics & Usage on your iPhone and disable sending this information.
Thomas Kranig, the head of the regulatory group, made the comment that "if Apple decided to cease the use [of Carrier IQ], all the better." He's not the only bureaucrat looking into Carrier IQ; Senator Al Franken (D-Minn) has called for Carrier IQ to disclose why the software tracks and stores the information that it does.
