U.S. Senator Ron Wyden claimed that governments are capable of spying on people's iPhones and Google push notifications.
Senator Receives Tip on Push Notification Spying
In an open letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Wyden detailed that the claim came after receiving a tip about push notifications in early 2022. The tip report showed that foreign governments were asking for push notification records, however, it was revealed that Apple, Google, and the US government knew about it.
During his investigation, the senator's team contacted Apple and Google about the tip. "In response to that query, the companies told my staff that information about this practice is restricted from public release by the government," he wrote.
Apple argued that while the company is committed to transparency and user disclosure, the federal government prohibited them from sharing any information. The company also assured that since the method has become public, they will update their transparency reporting.
Meanwhile, Google stated that the company shared the "senator's commitment to keeping users informed about these requests."
Senator Pushes for Transparency
Push notifications are pop-up messages that alert users about new messages, updates, breaking news, or other updates. They can pass through Google and Apple's servers giving them a "unique position to facilitate government surveillance of how users are using particular apps," as per the senator.
According to Wyden, the companies should be allowed to reveal any participation in facilitating surveillance practices. In this way, the customers are notified about the demands for their data.
Previously, Wyden called out Apple to remove a Saudi government app that tracks women's movement, from the App Store. The issue was released in 2019 and up until now, the app remains in the App Store.
