Stealthy Cellphone Software Stirs Outcry

Technology bloggers are asking if our phones are spying on us after a security researcher said a piece of software hidden on millions of cellphones was recording virtually everything people do with their phones.

Amid a broad outcry, Sen. Al Franken, a Minnesota Democrat, is calling for an investigation. A lawsuit has been filed against the company behind the software, CarrierIQ Inc.

The software appears to be relatively innocuous. It does keep track of what owners of Sprint Nextel Corp. and AT&T Inc. phones do with them, including what they type and the numbers they dial.

But it doesn't seem to transmit every keystroke. Instead, it kicks into action when there's some sort of problem and lets the phone company know.