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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Bank account in Ramgarh tracked for fraudulent fund transactions across 24 states, 4 arrested
Ramgarh (Jharkhand) (PTI): Jharkhand police on Thursday said it has unearthed a network of interstate cyber frauds and arrested four miscreants for fraudulent transactions through a bank account in Ramgarh district after complaints of 274 suspected transactions in 24 states.
The states where complaints for fraudulent transactions were registered included Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The action followed inputs received through 'Samanvaya portal', a centralised, web-based platform launched by the Union Home Ministry to curb cybercrime.
"We arrested four cyber miscreants after a current account with Kuju (Ramgarh) branch of the State Bank of India was found to have registered suspected financial transactions in 24 states with the help of the Pratibimba portal of the Home Ministry through the Samanvaya portal," Ramgarh Superintendent of Police Mukesh Kumar Lunayat said.
During the probe, police found that the account was opened under the MSME Udyam Registration scheme in the name of Shree Ganesh Enterprises, he said.
The account had been linked to as many as 274 complaints from different states related to cyber fraud and illegal fund transfers.
The registered proprietors of the enterprise were identified as Rahul Gupta (37), Ravi Kumar Verma (34), and Ajay Sharma (33), all residents of Ramgarh district, a statement from the Ramgarh police said.
During interrogation, Rahul Gupta and Ravi Kumar Verma revealed that they had opened multiple current accounts at the behest of Ritesh Agrawal alias Munna (40) and Sonu Kumar Jha (34).
They admitted receiving Rs 1.2 lakh in exchange for facilitating the opening of these accounts.
"The accused further confessed to sharing OTPs, activating mobile banking services, and handing over control of the accounts to the main operators through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. These accounts were then allegedly used to route fraudulent transactions.
Police said mobile data analysis of the accused led to the recovery of crucial digital evidence, including details of SIM cards, bank accounts, passbooks, ATM cards, QR code scanners, Aadhaar cards, and PAN cards shared through messaging platforms.
A total of four accused have been arrested so far and sent to judicial custody.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 and Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Further investigation is underway, the police said.
