Senators Demand Google Answer Questions About Covert Collection of User Location Data from Android Devices

Washington, D.C. - December 5, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- After an investigation by technology publication Quartz revealed Google collects Android users’ location data – even when location services are disabled – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) wrote to Google CEO Sundar Pichai to demand answers.

According to the Quartz investigation, Android devices are continually and covertly collecting users’ location information and sending this information to Google – including when location services are disabled, the phone has been reset to factory condition, no apps are running, or the SIM card is removed. These practices, which Google confirmed in the article, are alarming – and possibly in violation of Americans’ privacy rights.

Google’s response to the November 21 Quartz investigation was a pledge to no longer send “cell-tower location data to Google” by the end of November. It is not clear if the company has upheld its promise. In addition, Google has not indicated whether it would also commit to not sending back location data derived from other kinds of technologies used to determine location.

“These practices…are alarming, and the public deserves a full explanation from the company’s CEO of the reason behind this data collection. To date, Google’s explanation for this location tracking behavior has been inadequate,” Blumenthal and Markey wrote to Pichai. “The American public is growing increasingly uneasy about the amount of data collected on them. It is important that they are fully aware of exactly when, how, and why their location information is being collected by the companies that they have put their trust in.”

Blumenthal is Ranking Member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security, and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Markey is a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

The full text of the Senators’ letter to Google is available for download here

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