Smartphone software maker CarrierIQ has said in a statement that it does monitor all keystrokes on mobile devices but only for "legitimate purposes," thinq.co.uk reports. The company said its "software does not record, store or transmit the contents of SMS messages, e-mail, photographs, audio or video." In an open letter to the company, U.S. Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) queried why the application "captures a broad swath of extremely sensitive information from users that would appear to have nothing to do with diagnostics," adding, "These actions may violate federal privacy laws...This is potentially a very serious matter." The company has asserted that it has not breached any "wiretap laws." France's data protection authority has said in an e-mail that it is also investigating the matter. Meanwhile, companies including Google, Apple and Microsoft are distancing themselves from the software, and phone carriers that use CarrierIQ say they do not collect users' personal information.
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