US Lawmaker Demands Apple and Google Provide Foreign Governments with User Notification Data
A US lawmaker has highlighted a new privacy concern, stating that Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google have been compelled by foreign governments to disclose users’ data obtained from notifications on their devices.
In a letter released Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon asked the Justice Department to allow tech companies to discuss the practice publicly. The Democrat said the companies previously told him that “the government has restricted disclosure of practices.”
The senator’s letter did not specify which governments have requested notification information from Apple and Google, but indicated that they are foreign entities.
After the letter was published, Apple confirmed that it receives such requests from foreign governments. The US federal government “restricted us from sharing any information,” the company said. “Now that this method has become public, we are updating our transparency reporting to detail these types of requests.”
Both Apple and Google have their own so-called its push notification systems that provide instant alerts on everything from text messages to bank deposits and sports scores. Companies deliver billions of notifications to users every month, and systems are used by millions of third-party developers.
Notification data – if obtained by authorities – can reveal a user’s habits, communications and whereabouts. They are potentially private information sent to a person’s smartphone, tablet or computer.
“Like any other information these companies store about or about their users, because Apple and Google provide push notification data, governments can surreptitiously compel them to release this information,” Wyden wrote. “Importantly, app developers don’t have many options; If they want their apps to reliably send push notifications on these platforms, they have to use a service provided by Apple or Google.
In response to the letter, Google said it has already released transparency reports detailing “the number and types of user data requests we receive, including the requests mentioned by Senator Wyden.”
“We share the senator’s commitment to keep users informed of these requests,” the company said in a statement.
Both companies said they have thorough processes for approving or rejecting government requests. And Apple is now going to break down the push notification requests it receives in its next transparency report.
“Apple is committed to transparency, and we have long supported efforts to ensure that service providers can disclose as much information as possible to their users,” the company said.
