We're all getting tired of the whole Carrier IQ mess. Analytics are necessary evil, but in this case done in a totally bullshit way, with little or no regard to how the consumer might feel about it. No wonder it caused a huge uproar, which has now found its way to Washington. Federal lawmakers have executives from Carrier IQ in front of them today, hammering them about how the software works, why it's needed, and how bad this is for you and I. According to Mira Woods from Carrier IQ marketing communications, Carrier IQ has been completely transparent and has nothing to hide. She also confirmed that Carrier IQ chief executive Larry Lenhart and the company’s senior vice president for marketing Andrew Coward met with regulators today to the Washington Post. The FTC and FCC are investigating after being asked by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) as a possible unfair or deceptive act or practice. Yes, a bunch of people who may or may not really care about you and I are putting on a good show during an election year. Hallelujah!
But that's all a load of crapola. Where are the execs from the Big 4 U.S. carriers that hired Carrier IQ, and why aren't they sweating it out in front of some elected people or FTC bigwigs? Yes, I said all four -- Verizon may not use Carrier IQ, but they collect the same exact information somehow.
This whole campaign against a small company from Silicon Valley that writes software for American cellular carriers is a lynch mob going after the wrong people. The folks you pay every month are the real culprits here, and were just looking for an easy way to harvest information out of you. They found someone smart enough to write it and went all-in. When Carrier IQ gets driven out of business, and the bids go out for someone else to write the same style software, there will be plenty of takers. Suits from AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon need to be held accountable for this one folks, because they aren't going to stop until they are forced to -- even if that means contracting another company to do their dirty work.
More: Washington Post
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