Are MP3 Players Calling Home?

from the evidence-please? dept

Wed, Mar 9th 2005 10:53am — Mike Masnick

It's not clear at all where this theory came from, but a lawyer writing for USA Today, using some fun lawyers' language ("Notwithstanding the foregoing") tries to imply, without ever actually saying it, that the makers of MP3 players are spying on what users do with the devices. Where's the evidence? There isn't any. The article just sort of dances around the issue, and says people should check carefully to make sure the makers of their MP3 devices aren't secretly spying on their music listening habits. He also seems to suggest that Bluetooth is the culprit -- though, there aren't very many Bluetooth-enabled MP3 players, and its hard to see many music player manufacturers setting up Bluetooth spying posts all around the world for this data, considering that Bluetooth is a pretty short-distance technology, and not particularly well-suited for this task. If anything, it sounds like someone has been confused by all the Bluesnarfing hype -- which isn't as big a problem as described, and only puts a very small number of phones at risk. He also goes on to say that for people who have music players with Bluetooth, they should be careful whenever they're in a "hotzone" -- despite the fact that a hotzone refers to WiFi, and entirely different technology than Bluetooth. So, are there any MP3 players that phone home and let the manufacturer know what you're listening to (whether or not they're using the nearly impossible technology infrastructure this guy describes)? If so, wouldn't that news get out pretty quickly and put the company in a world of PR trouble for building spyware into their device?

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Michael Shipp, 9 Mar 2005 @ 11:22am

Not Sure About MP3 Players But.....
MSNBC had an article on a company called Gracenote. They provide database access for several music programs (iTunes, Media Player) so that it can fill in song titles and other information when you go to rip a CD.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6969653/
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- Mike (profile), 9 Mar 2005 @ 11:31am
  
  Re: Not Sure About MP3 Players But.....
  Yeah, the applications are a different story. Gracenote's CDDB is a well known system that has been around for ages (and I've found I like software that uses FreeDB much more). But this guy is specifically talking about the hardware players.
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Joe Schmoe, 9 Mar 2005 @ 11:42am

No Subject Given
I read somewhere last week where the new Playforsure branded players track and report back what you listen to and how much.
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2005 @ 11:21am
  
  Re: No Subject Given
  
  Mike,
  
  Why do you persist in perpetuating poor journalists articles like this one ?
  
  The writer is an idiot & his article proves it.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 10 Mar 2005 @ 11:28am
    
    BOGUS JOURNALIST
    The guy isn't even a journalist, he's a freaking "hired gun" who I'm sure the RIAA paid to write up this supposed "article".
    
    Eric Sinrod is a partner in the San Francisco office of Duane Morris (www.duanemorris.com), where he focuses on litigation matters of various types, including information technology disputes.
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