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Privacy
Apple Data Spying Department of Justice Google Government Spying Privacy

Google and Apple Admit Government Spies On Users Via Push Notifications

Apple and Google admit governments spy on users through push notifications

Government spying through push notifications

Government authorities have been snooping on smartphone users via push notifications sent out by applications, wrote a US senator in a letter to the Department of Justice on December 6. 

Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon has requested that the Department of Justice relax any existing limits on concerns about push notification surveillance.

In the letter, Wyden wrote “I write to urge the Department of Justice (DOJ) to permit Apple and Google to inform their customers and the general public about demands for smartphone app notification records”

More about push alerts

Push alerts, he continues, are routed through a digital post office maintained by the phone's operating system suppliers. "Because Apple and Google deliver push notification data, they can be secretly compelled by governments to hand over this information," according to the letter. This might provide governments with information about how users engage with specific apps, give them a peek at the whole text of a notice, and reveal some exposed data.

Wyden petitioned the Justice Department to allow Apple and Google to be honest about government demands for push notification surveillance.

Google and Apple admit spying and praise the letter

Additionally, the two companies praised Wyden's letter and admitted that push notification spying has been going on for quite some time. Apple also stated that it was not permitted to publish government demands for push notification data, but that it would begin telling people about it immediately.

"In this case, the federal government prohibited us from sharing any information," Apple stated, according to a Reuters report. "Now that this method has become public, we are updating our transparency reporting to detail these kinds of requests."

Even Google admitted the problem and stated that it supported Wyden's "commitment to keeping users informed about these requests." Google's transparency report already includes documentation of government demands for push notification data from users.

The rising concerns about government surveillance

Raising his concern in the letter, Wyden said “As with all of the other information these companies store for or about their users, because Apple and Google deliver push notification data, they can be secretly compelled by governments to hand over this information. Importantly, app developers don't have many options; if they want their apps to reliably deliver push notifications on these platforms, they must use the service provided by Apple or Google, respectively.”

Many users ignore push notifications, but they have sometimes caught the interest of technologists due to the difficulties of delivering them without passing data to Google or Apple.

Earlier in 2023, French developer David Libeau said that users and developers often remained oblivious to how their apps sent data to U.S. web giants via push notifications, labelling them "a privacy nightmare."


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US Congress
Data Spying FBI National Security Privacy US Congress

White House Panel Recommends Restricting the FBI's Access to spy Data

FBI spying

A team of national security experts created by the Biden administration has advised that the FBI be restricted from accessing surveillance data that captures communications by Americans. The Presidential Intelligence Advisory Board gave the basis for this proposal as frequent failings by the agency.

Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702 

The panel examined Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the US intelligence agency to collect information on non-US citizens believed to be located outside the US. The section is slated to expire on December 31 unless Congress renews it. The board determined that this portion is a vital national security tool.

However, the program also records conversations with or about US citizens and businesses. US intelligence services can then search the data trove by entering Americans' names, phone numbers, and email addresses in what is known as "US person queries." Critics call this method of eavesdropping on Americans' personal information — and even their communications — a "back-door search."

Congressional Renewal in Question 

With reforms, the surveillance authority will be renewed by Congress. Republicans have joined Democrats, civil liberties groups, and industry titans such as Alphabet Inc.'s Google and Apple Inc. in criticizing Section 702.

The White House will review all of the board's recommendations, according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, with particular attention being paid to the first: dropping the FBI's ability to examine the Section 702 database for proof of crimes that aren't associated with national security.

Findings of the Panel 

Nonetheless, the advisory group ruled that "Section 702 authorities are critical to national security and do not jeopardize civil liberties, so long as the necessary culture, processes, and oversight are in place." 
The board observed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which receives 4% of the data captured under Section 702, engaged in frequent noncompliance with the law's standards. This problem board members attributed to carelessness rather than purposeful data misuse.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Deputy Jon Finer stated that the provision "should be reauthorized without new and operationally damaging restrictions on reviewing intelligence lawfully collected by the government, and with measures that build on proven reforms to enhance compliance and oversight, among other improvements."

This development draws attention to the ongoing debate over privacy and national security. While surveillance programs are necessary for national security, it is critical to guarantee that they do not violate civil liberties. The White House panel's recommendation to limit FBI access to surveillance data is a step in the right direction toward reconciling these two interests.

How Congress reacts to these recommendations and whether Section 702 is renewed remains to be seen. In any event, this development highlights the significance of transparency and accountability in government monitoring activities.
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