Lawmakers sent letters on Thursday requesting information from more than 30 popular iPhone applications developers as part of an inquiry into how software companies collect private consumer data.<\/p>\n
Recipients of the letter, including Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare and Path, were asked to provide information about the user data that is collected when consumers download their apps — and how that data is used.<\/p>\n
The letter came after several popular apps, including Path, the social networking tool, were found accessing and uploading address book data from users’ iPhones without permission, sparking a massive online controversy last month.<\/p>\n
Representatives Henry Waxman and G.K. Butterfield, two Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, sent the letter to 33 developers that had apps listed under the “iPhone Essential” area, a digital storefront curated by Apple in its App Store.<\/p>\n
The app makers have until April 12 to respond.<\/p>\n
Apple, which was included as a recipient to the most recent letter, has also been tarnished by the scrutiny cast on its app makers; the iPhone and iPad maker has long said it subjects its app developers to a strict review before allowing new products into the App Store.<\/p>\n
After the address book controversy emerged last month, Waxman and Butterfield sent a similar letter to Apple to request information about its App Store’s consumer protection policies.<\/p>\n
The apps inquiry is part of a broader tide of interest gathering on Capitol Hill around Internet privacy issues.<\/p>\n
In January, legislators including Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts criticized Google’s plans to consolidate its privacy policies, saying it potentially violated a 2010 agreement that the web giant had struck with the Federal Trade Commission to improve its privacy policies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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