The Pandora Probe

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Internet radio service Pandora
announced Monday that it has
been served a subpoena as part
of a federal grand jury
investigation into the information
being gathered/shared by popular
iPhone and Android smartphone
applications.

"We were informed that we are
not a specific target of the
investigation, and we believe
that similar subpoenas were
issued on an industry wide
basis to the publishers of
numerous other smartphone
applications," Pandora.

The probe surfaces as
regulators/policymakers
consider stepping-down on
security and data privacy.

Accidents and breaches have
pulled more attention to the
issue.

Pandora, in its revised filing
to the Securities and Exchange
Commission, expressed concern
that suggested privacy controls
like the proposed "do not track"
or "opt-in" mechanisms could
impair its ability to collect
data on its listeners, purpose
of its ad-supported business
model.

"Restrictions on our ability to
collect, access and harness
listener data- would in turn
limit our ability to stream
personalized music content to
our listeners and offer targeted
advertising opportunities to our
advertising customers, each of
which are critical to the success
of our business," Pandora
explained.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20110405130059writ.nb/topstory.html