US Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn), who has previously criticized technology giants like Apple over questionable in-app purchase policies and mobile security issues, has announced the witness list for net Tuesday’s congressional hearing on mobile privacy.
Franken is chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law.
On Friday, Franken revealed that the hearing’s participants will include: Guy L. Tribble, Apple’s vice president of software technology; Alan Davidson, Google’s director of public policy for the Americas; Justin Brookman, director for project on consumer privacy at the Center for Democracy and Technology; Ashkan Soltani, independent researcher and consultant; and Jonathan Zuck, president of the Association for Competitive Technology.
Apple, however, has more to do with the ultimate need for this hearing than any other company involved.
In April, Apple’s iOS location tracking and data storage bug sparked widespread concern when the potential privacy threat was discovered.
Apple stated just last week that providing mobile users with fast and accurate location information while preserving their security and privacy “has raised some very complex technical issues which are hard to communicate in a soundbite.”
Apple ultimately addressed and remedied the situation with Monday’s release of iOS 4.3.3.
