The US government orders Apple and Google to identify users of an application for the scope of a firearm



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The US government has ordered Apple and Google to disclose names, phone numbers and other information relating to "at least" 10,000 users of a gun application, report Forbes.

An order from the Department of Justice asks for information on who uses Obsidian 4, an application that controls the riflescopes manufactured by American Technologies Network Corp. The application is designed to allow gun owners to watch live, take videos and calibrate their weapon. worn with the help of a smartphone.


From the description of the App Store of the application:

The Obsidian 4 app is here to enhance your experience using the ATN X-Sight 4K and / or ThOR 4 product lines. This app connects your smartphone or tablet to your ATN device via Wifi. This connection allows you to watch a live video stream of your hunt on your smartphone or tablet. The Obsidian 4 app lets you adjust / change the various settings of your ATN Smart Oscilloscope and review the images and videos stored on your microSD scopes card.

On Google Play, the app has more than 10,000 downloads. As Apple does not disclose iOS downloads, the number of iPhone users who downloaded it is not clear.

Edin Omanovic, Head of Privacy International's National Monitoring Program, said Forbes that the order could create a dangerous precedent by giving the government access to "huge amounts of innocent personal data".

The data is being sought because the US Department of Immigration and Customs (ICE) has launched an extensive investigation into possible gun export violations and is investigating Illegal exports of the ATN perimeter used with the application. From the government order:

This type of illegal export attempts of this type of rifle, combined with the manner in which the ATN Obsidian 4 application is associated with this type of field manufactured by the company A, makes it possible to conclude that the requested information will help the government to identify the networks involved in the process. illegal export of this firearm by identifying end users located in countries to which the export of this article is restricted

The data on the users of the application will allow ICE to determine where the scopes were shipped, and the investigation comes after ICE has intercepted illegal shipments repeatedly.

Apple, Google and the scope scope ATN have not responded Forbes& # 39; request for comment. The government is looking for the names and IP addresses of all those who downloaded the Scope app from August 1, 2017 to the current date.

Apple had never received a similar application in the US before, but an anonymous government previously asked for data on 58 million users of an application in a terrorist investigation, and Apple refused to provide these data. It is not known yet whether Apple and Google will comply with the demand in this case.

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