James Delahunty
9 Dec 2011 21:00
CEO distances Google from Carrier IQ at a conference in The Hague.
Google chief executive Eric Schmidt has insisted that the search giant has nothing to do with Carrier IQ, and does not use any of its software.
Since a researcher pointed out alarming information about the Carrier IQ software that was pre-installed on millions of Android and iOS smartphones, the situation has exploded into a saga that had gotten the attention of the U.S. Congress, and spawned at least one class-action lawsuit.
A video showing the Carrier IQ software logging information on a HTC smartphone running Android might have given some users the impression that Google itself is responsible for installing the software. Not the case, according to Schmidt.
"Android is an open platform, so it's possible for people to build software that's actually not very good for you, and this appears to be one," Schmidt told the Internet freedom conference.
"It's a key-logger, and it actually does keep your keystrokes, and we certainly don't work with them and we certainly don't support it."
Carrier IQ makes software for wireless carriers and smartphone manufacturers to pre-install on handsets. The stated purpose of its software is to gather information related to service quality, such as dropped call logs, or battery drain. Carrier IQ claims this type of data gathering helps to quickly illuminate emerging problems with networks, and also streamlines customers service, and more.