November 6 3:12 P.M.
If you're fond of trying out new games on your iPhone, a just-filed lawsuit might give you cause to reconsider.
Filed in San Francisco, the class action suit alleges that game developer Storm8, responsible for games including World War, iMobsters, and Racing Live, makes use of an unauthorized "backdoor" to collect and retrieve the cellphone number of anyone playing the game. This stands in contravention of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and other statutes.
Storm8's games have been downloaded over 20 million times, according to the lawsuit, and make regular appearances on Apple's top-ten free games lists. The filing states that Storm8 admitted collecting the numbers in late August, calling it a "bug."
Not so, claims the suit.
"Storm8 could not have accidentally harvested its users’ phone numbers," the filing alleges. "It used very specific and specialized software code to do so. iPhones are designed in such a way as to prevent Apps from accessing the wireless phone number of the iPhones on which they are installed. There exists, however, a hidden and unauthorized method through which an App, such as a Storm8 game, is able to access the phone number of the iPhone on which it is installed."
Bug, or feature? Either way, Storm8 says the offending code has been removed, but that hasn't stopped the lawsuit's instigator from seeking injunctive relief and damages on behalf of other affected players. Which, if you're one of the millions to have downloaded one of the company's games, could be you.
Via Boingboing.
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Posted: 6 Nov 2009
