WASHINGTON — Federal investigators are probing allegations that Carrier IQ software found on about 150 million cellphones tracked user activity and sent the information to the cellphone companies without informing consumers, according to government officials.
Executives from Carrier IQ traveled to Washington on Tuesday and met with officials at the Federal Trade Commission, which is responsible for protecting consumers and enforcing privacy laws. The executives also met with the Federal Communications Commission.
The controversy over the California software company, based in Silicon Valley, erupted a few weeks ago when security researcher Trevor Eckhart discovered evidence that a piece of software developed by the company and found on smartphones captured every keystroke and text message written by users and sent the information on the handsets to carriers.
The FTC probe was confirmed by officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because it is private. An FTC spokeswoman said she could not confirm or deny whether the agency was investigating Carrier IQ. But a spokeswoman for Carrier IQ said company executives were cooperating with federal investigators.
“We are complying with all investigations at this time as we have nothing to hide,” said Mira Woods of Carrier IQ’s marketing communications department. “We have been completely transparent through this process.”
Carrier IQ has said its software is not designed to capture keystrokes or the content of messages, but in some cases that may have happened by accident. The data is intended to help improve users’ experience with smartphones, the company said.
Woods said Carrier IQ chief executive Larry Lenhart and Andrew Coward, the company’s senior vice president for marketing, met with federal regulators at the FTC and the FCC. The Carrier IQ executives also met with some congressional staffers.
Three of the four major cellular providers — AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint — have said they use the company’s software in line with their own privacy policies. A Verizon spokesman said the program is not present on any of the company’s mobile devices.
Apple has said it would remove Carrier IQ from iPhones in a future software update.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., asked the FTC on Dec. 2 to investigate the practices of Carrier IQ as a possible unfair or deceptive act or practice.
