France’s Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés, or CNIL, is still investigating a report from earlier this year that Apple’s iPhone collected user location data and stored the information in an unencrypted format, according to Breibart.
France is still looking into Apple’s iPhone location tracking
Apple found itself in the middle of a privacy-related controversy earlier this year when reports that the iPhone was logging user’s locations and storing the database on their computers. In some cases, the databases contained up to a year’s worth of location information that tracked iPhone owner’s movements.
According to Apple, the database only included cell tower locations that were within 100 miles of the user, and aided in location-based services. The fact that several months worth of data happened to be stored instead of only a few days was a software bug that Apple addressed with a software update.
“We have sent two letters to Apple, who have responded to us in part,” commented CNIL boss Yann Padova. “We received some clarifications, but they were not complete. The file is still under investigation.”
Word that France is still conducting an investigation follows news that South Korea hit Apple with a 3 million won fine — or about US$2,855.
France officials have not said if they plan to penalize Apple in any way for the data collection.