Apple, Motorola, AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile latest to be sued over Carrier IQ tracking

Apple, Motorola, and three major wireless carriers are the latest to face a class-action lawsuit over a smartphone privacy scandal, with Carrier IQ, HTC, and Samsung also facing allegations that they spy on users with software installed on smartphones. While Carrier IQ makes the software, it is installed on phones manufactured by hardware companies and sold by carriers, providing plenty of targets for lawsuits.

A lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Delaware Dec 2 against a big roster including Carrier IQ, AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, HTC, Apple, Samsung, and Motorola Mobility. Filed on behalf of four plaintiffs who are iPhone, HTC, and Samsung phone users and also customers of AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, the suit notes that "defendants Samsung, Apple, Motorola, and HTC pre-install Carrier IQ software on cell phones used by its customers on the AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint networks." The lawsuit says that "[i]n addition to collecting device and service-related data, Carrier IQ’s software can collect data about a user’s location, application use, Web browsing habits, videos watched, texts read and even the keys they press." The suit claims violations of the Federal Wiretap Act, Stored Electronic Communications Act, and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, while demanding monetary compensation as well as a permanent order preventing the defendants "from installing software on cell phones that could track the users’ information in violation of federal law.”