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Lawsuit Accuses Warriors' Mobile App of Eavesdropping On Fans -- Even When Not In Use (cnet.com)
An anonymous reader writes: A lawsuit is accusing the Golden State Warriors' app of spying on fans in order to determine a user's precise location in order to serve targeted ads. The creepiest thing about it? The lawsuit says the app does this even when it isn't in use. It claims the app secretly uses the microphones from the mobile device running the app to listen in and record user conversations. CBS Local reports: "The app, which delivers up-to-date scores, schedules and news, asks for permission to access the microphone on users' phones. But, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in San Francisco federal court, it doesn't disclose the extent to which it listens in. If true, the allegations would violate the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which prohibits the 'interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications.' The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, seeks statutory damages equal to 'the sum of actual damages suffered plus any profits defendants earned through its unlawful conduct.'" "Even more disconcerting, the app turns on the microphone (listening and recording) any time the app is running," the filing reads. "No matter if a consumer is actively using the app or if it is merely running in the background: the app is listening."
The eavesdropping algorithm is waiting for the secret command: "warriors, come out to plaaay-aay"
so move along, nothing to see or hear.
So, couple of things. First, it's the Android version that is the target of this lawsuit, not the iOS version. Second, on iOS anytime an app is using the microphone, the phone's status bar turns read and if the application is in the background there is a persistent, flashing notification under the status bar showing which application is using it. Tap the notification and it takes you back to that application.
I browse on +1 so AC's need not respond, I won't see it.
If you look up "WebCamGate" from 2010, when a school district was taking 60,000+ photos of students at home in their bedrooms by activating their school laptops, the administrator telling subordinates to conceal the surveillance, wrote back to a complainant with a note almost like that, "Why would we do such a thing? We would never do that!" Look up the name "Dimedio". So you'll have to forgive our skepticism.