A company called Carrier IQ is now being sued for a product that, on behalf of carriers and without telling the users, collects usage information about smartphones. This product has been in the spotlight recently, ever since an Android developer discovered it on his phone and the company tried to intimidate him into stopping further reporting of the issue.

Carrier IQ [...] has been hit with two class-action lawsuits from users worried about how the company’s software tracks their smartphone activity. Carrier IQ, of course, professes its innocence. But the company has also received some public support from security researchers who say Carrier IQ’s software is only tracking diagnostic information and likely is not violating user privacy.

It all began recently with a developer named Trevor Eckhart showing how Carrier IQ software seems to record button presses, search queries and the contents of text messages on an HTC Evo Android phone, with no way for the user to shut the tracking activity off. Carrier IQ initially tried to silence Eckhart with a cease-and-desist letter, but ultimately backed down on the threat in the face of opposition from the Electronic Frontier Foundation. But Carrier IQ still has legal and publicity problems to handle. One new class-action lawsuit names both Carrier IQ and HTC, accusing the companies of violations under the Federal Wiretap Act. Another lawsuit was filed against Carrier IQ as well as HTC and Samsung, both of which have confirmed installing Carrier IQ software on their smartphones, saying they do so at the request of wireless carriers.

While Apple is in the process of phasing Carrier IQ out of iOS, it said “data was sent anonymously, and in encrypted fashion. We did not record keystrokes, messages or any personal information for the diagnostic data, and we have no plans to in the future.”

Carrier IQ has also drawn criticism from US Senator Al Franken who has launched an investigation into the matter.

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A company called Carrier IQ is now being sued for a product that, on behalf of carriers and without telling the users, collects usage information about smartphones. This product has been in the spotlight recently, ever since an Android developer discovered it on his phone and the company tried to intimidate him into stopping further ...