Google sued by Android phone users over location tracking

Two Android phone users are suing Google over claims that their phones are secretly recording and storing data relating to their movements. The residents of Oakland County in Michigan filed a complaint on April 27th in federal court in Detroit.

The residents are claiming that their HTC Inspire 4G phones track their whereabouts “just as if by a tracking device for which a court-ordered warrant would ordinarily be required.” They are wanting to represent other Android phone users in a class action lawsuit as well at least $50 million in damages and a court order requiring Google to stop tracking their users.

Both Apple and Google are facing a lot of negative public press recently from the press over the collection of data from their smart phones, and both companies have agreed to testify at a May 10th Senate hearing about privacy on mobile devices.

Chris Gaither, a spokesman for Google sent an email on April 27th saying “We provide users with notice and control over the collection, sharing and use of location” on Androids, Gaither had said in an e-mail on April 27 regarding lawmakers. Any location data that is sent back to Google location servers is anonymized and is not tied or traceable to a specific user.”

The case is Julie Brown v. Google, 11-11867, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit).'

Kitguru says: Will more unsavoury secrets about (a lack off) consumer privacy be released over the coming months?

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