Sen. Charles Schumer used his time at Tuesday's cell-phone tracking hearing to question Google and Apple about the inclusion of DUI checkpoint apps in their app stores.Both companies said they are reviewing their terms and how the apps work before making any decisions about their removal.
In March, several senators wrote to Google, Apple, and RIM to express concern about apps that allow users to keep tabs on—and possibly evade—DUI checkpoints, which they said was "harmful to public safety." They asked the companies to remove the apps or alter them so they do not allow for DUI checkpoint information.
RIM later said it would remove the apps from BlackBerry App World, but they remain in the Apple App Store and Google Android Market.
"We do have a set of content policies regarding our Android Marketplace and although we have to evaluate each app separately, apps that share information about sobriety checkpoints are not a violation of our policies," Alan Davidson, director of public policy at Google, told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law. Read More
