Jennifer Van Grove:
Despite a detailed response from Apple CEO Tim Cook and the introduction of new privacy policies, U.S. government officials aren’t yet satisfied that Apple is doing enough to protect the information of its customers.
G.K. Butterfield and Henry Waxman, ranking members of a congressional subcommittee dedicated to consumer protection, delivered a second letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook Wednesday, this time requesting that Apple brief the Energy and Commerce Committee on its practices.
Read more on The Washington Post.
While I agree some things need to be investigated, I really do not see the point in all of these different Congressional committees or subcommittees having hearings or briefings. I think it makes more sense to give the FTC more resources so that they can investigate these consumer privacy-related issues and pursue them. They would also do it out of the public/media spotlight.
If Congress wants to help, they should pass some strong consumer protection laws about data collection and retention and give the FTC the resources to enforce them.