Capitol Hill can't get enough of Apple and Google, but this time they're throwing in Facebook, too.
A Senate Commerce subcommittee has scheduled a 10am hearing on mobile privacy for May 19, titled "Consumer Privacy and Protection in the Mobile Marketplace."
Among those invited to testify are Bret Taylor, chief technology officer at Facebook, Catherine Novelli, vice president of worldwide government affairs at Apple, and Alan Davidson, director of public policy at Google. No word on if they have accepted the invite.
Also invited to share their thoughts are David Vladeck, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, Morgan Reed, executive director of the Association for Competitive Technology, and Amy Guggenheim Shenkan, president and COO of Common Sense Media.
"The hearing will also explore the possible role of the federal government in protecting consumers in the mobile marketplace and promoting their privacy," Sen. John Rockefeller, chairman of the full committee, told AFP.
The hearing will take place nine days after a Senate Judiciary subcommittee grilled executives from Apple and Google on the same subject. Davidson was in attendance at that hearing, but Apple sent Bud Tribble, vice president of software technology.
At issue is the location-based data collected by smartphones. Last month, researchers said that iOS 4 location information was stored in an insecure manner and accessible to anyone who stumbled upon your iPhone, iPad, or the computer with which you synced your iOS device. That prompted concerns that Apple, and anyone who looked at that data, could track your whereabouts.
Apple later said iOS 4 devices captured so much data due to a "bug." That bug was fixed via iOS 4.3.3, but members of Congress apparently still have questions for mobile OS makers like Apple and Google.
For its part, Google has said that any location-based data it collects via its Android mobile operating system is anonymous in nature and the majority of that information is deleted after one week.
Facebook is likely being called to testify after a recent Symantec report said that, until recently, Facebook apps have inadvertently been leaking user data to third-party developers. Facebook said it worked with Symantec to rectify the issue, but took issue with how it characterized the situation.