In a strongly-worded letter to Apple, Google, and RIM, three U.S. Senators demanded that the companies remove apps that show information about DUI checkpoints from their app stores. In their note, Senators Reid, Schumer, Lautenberg, and Udall expressed “grave concern” that applications such as Fuzz Alert (for iOS) and Checkpoint Wingman (for Android) enable motorists to drive drunk with impunity.
Dozens of these so-called “police evasion” apps give users the location of current speed traps, red light cameras, and DUI checkpoints, based on user submissions. In their letter, the senators wrote:
We appreciate the technology that has allowed millions of Americans to have information at their fingertips, but giving drunk drivers a free tool to evade checkpoints, putting innocent families and children at risk, is a matter of public concern. We hope that you will give our request to remove these applications from your store immediate consideration.
App publishers defended their wares. Steve Croke, the maker of FuzzAlert told the Wall St. Journal that “I don’t think anybody realistically is going to go into a bar and get smashed and then check my app.” And the makers of Buzzed, another popular evasion app, said on their site that they are actually helping the police by spreading the word about how touch law enforcement really is. On their site, they claim that Buzzed allows authorities to “more efficiently notify the public if, when and where they are going to be cracking down on this terrible crime.”
via CNET and Wall St. Journal
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