Privacy concerns among U.S. Senators have prompted Senator Al Franken to ask Apple and Google to participate in a hearing with the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy.
[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]According to Ars Technica’s Jacqui Cheng, the hearing will take place on May 10, 2011 at 10:00 am ET. The hearing will focus on recent reports that Google’s Android and Apple’s iPhone and iPad track user’s location.
“Recent advances in mobile technology have allowed Americans to stay connected like never before and put an astonishing number of resources at our fingertips,” Franken said in a statement. “But the same technology that has given us smartphones, tablets, and cell phones has also allowed these devices to gather extremely sensitive information about users, including detailed records of their daily movements and location. This hearing is the first step in making certain that federal laws protecting consumers’ privacy — particularly when it comes to mobile devices—keep pace with advances in technology.”
Reports last week that found the iPhone and iPad contains a file that tracks user’s location. Since then another researcher offered an explanation for the file and another story found Android also tracks a user’s location.
Earlier today Apple was sued by two users over the location tracking in the devices.