Explain data collection practices: US lawmakers to Apple, Google
San Francisco, July 10 : Lawmakers in the US have sent letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and Larry Page, CEO of Google's parent company Alphabet, demanding information on how they collect and use personal information of users.
Members of the Energy and Commerce Committee of the US House of Representatives sent the letters on Monday.
With recent media reports raising concerns about misuse of user data, the lawmakers sought information from the two companies on third-party access to consumer data, collection and use of audio recording data as well as location information via iPhone and Android devices.
In their letter to Alphabet's Page, the lawmakers pointed to reports that suggested that Google permitted third parties to access the contents of users' emails, including message text, email signatures, and receipt data, to personalise content despite an announcement in June 2017 in which the search giant said it would stop scanning Gmail for advertisements.
The Wall Street Journal last week reported that despite assuring users to "remain confident that Google will keep privacy and security paramount", it still allowed some third-party organisations to scan through Gmail accounts.
"In the context of free services offered by third parties, these practices raise questions about how representations made by a platform are carried out in practice," the lawmakers wrote in their letter to Alphabet's Page.
In their letter to Apple's CEO, the lawmakers asked if people's iPhones collect audio recordings without their consent and if Apple could "control or limit the data collected by third-party apps available on the App store", Fortune.com reported.
The House representatives asked is Apple collects and stores user information "through a different data-collection capability" even if people disable location-tracking services on their iPhones, it added.
The House representatives asked Alphabet's Page and Apple's Cook to respond to the questions by July 23.
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Voting begins for Assam''s 126 assembly seats
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Guwahati (PTI): Polling for all 126 Assam assembly constituencies began on Thursday to decide the electoral fate of 722 candidates, officials said.
In the high-stakes election, the ruling BJP is aiming for a third consecutive term in office, while the Congress seeks to wrest power after being ousted in 2016.
Polling, being held in a single phase, began at 7 am and will conclude at 5 pm. Long queues of voters were seen outside polling stations from early morning.
An electorate of 2.50 crore, including 1.25 crore women and 318 from the third gender, can exercise their franchise in 31,490 polling stations across the state.
Prominent candidates include Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi, assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal, Raijor Dal president Akhil Gogoi, and Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) chief Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
Several cabinet ministers, including the AGP’s Atul Bora and Keshav Mahanta, and the BPF’s Charan Boro are also in the fray.
The Congress has the highest of 99 contestants, followed by the BJP (90), AIUDF (30), NDA allies AGP (26) and BPF (11).
Opposition alliance’s Raijor Dal is contesting in 13, AJP in 10, CPI(M) in 3 and APHLC in 2. Outside the two coalitions, the AAP is contesting in 18 seats, UPPL in 18, TMC 22, JMM 16 and there are 258 independents.
The ruling NDA’s main constituents are the BJP, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and the Bodo Peoples’ Front (BPF) while the opposition alliance comprises the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI(M), All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) and CPI(ML).
The counting of votes is scheduled on May 4.
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