29 June 2010 | Author: J. Cave SEO Consultant

Apple in hot water over iPhone data gathering

Germany's justice minister has expressed concerns over Apple's practices of compiling data through its iPhone. These practices mean the smartphone may be in opposition to Germany's strict privacy laws.

The announcement from the German justice minister comes just a few days after the iPhone 4, Apple's latest release, went on sale in Germany. According to German privacy and data collection laws, collecting data without permission - regardless of how it is gathered - is illegal.

Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger has asked Apple to reveal to German state officials exactly which kind of data the company was gathering from iPhone users in Germany. It wasn't too long ago that German politicians were discussing a ban on Google Analytics, which provides webmasters with anonymous data about the website's visitors.

Speaking of companies abusing data protection laws, and Google in particular, many European countries still have yet to decide whether they will let Google keep the collected data or not, and whether the Mountain View company deserves a fine.

Responding to the data collection allegations in a statement to the press, Apple said that German users have the option of blocking data transfer of personal information, such as their geographic location. The iOS4 has, according to Apple, gone further in protecting user privacy than any other system to date.

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