Handset makers and US mobile operators are set to face a number of lawsuits about the alleged use of Carrier IQ's software to track customers' personal information without consumers' consent. The law firms Sianni & Straite, Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow & McElroy, and Keefe Bartels filed a class action complaint in Federal Court in Delaware claiming the "unprecedented breach of the digital privacy rights of 150 million cell phone users". The complaint asserts that T-Mobile USA, Sprint and AT&T and the manufacturers HTC, Motorola, Apple and Samsung violated the Federal Wiretap Act, the Stored Electronic Communications Act, and the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act by using the software from Carrier IQ to secretly track personal information of phone users. The law firm Hagen Berman also filed a class-action suit in California on behalf of four smartphone users, accusing HTC and Samsung of using software developed by Carrier IQ that illegally intercepts incoming text messages and captures users' key strokes without consumers' knowledge or permission. It claims the companies violated the Federal Wiretap Act, which prohibits the unauthorized interception or illegal use of electronic communications, and California's Unfair Business Practice Act. Carrier IQ is also named as a defendant in the suits. The group Consumer Watchdog also called for a federal investigation into the software from Carrier IQ and the wider mobile industry including operating systems developers like Google and Apple, carriers and device manufacturers. It wrote to the FCC and Attorney General saying the issue "appears to be a flagrant violation of wiretap laws". Carrier IQ has denied its product violates any wiretap laws and defended its service for mobile operators, saying it protects privacy and helps to deliver better mobile services. The controversy arose last month when software developer Trevor Eckhart published a video blog illustrating the operation of the CIQ software recording keystrokes, including information sent to secure websites using HTTPS security protocols. CIQ said its programme does not log keystrokes or intercept messages and it does not store or resell the information.
