House Commerce Leaders Press Google on Sensorvault Location Information
House Commerce Committee leaders pressed Google CEO Sundar Pichai Tuesday to explain reports the tech company is maintaining “a massive database of precise location information on hundreds of millions of consumers,” including “practically every customer with an Android mobile device”…
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as far back as 2009. The New York Times reported it's internally called Sensorvault. The “potential ramifications for consumer privacy are far reaching and concerning when examining the purposes for the Sensorvault database and how precise location information could be shared,” wrote House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J.; ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore.; House Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill.; and ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “We would like to know the purposes for which Google maintains the Sensorvault database and the extent to which Google shares precise location information from this database with third parties.” The lawmakers sought a Google briefing by May 10 and responses to their questions by May 7. They want Google to tell them what information the company stores in the Sensorvault database, who is able to access the database and if it maintains other databases of precise location information. The lawmakers want to know how accurate the Sensorvault location information is and what privacy controls Google has. The company didn't immediately comment.