Apple's Bud Tribble to Testify in Senate Hearing on Mobile Privacy

122037 core location map

As noted by All Things Digital, the U.S. Senate has posted a hearing notice for a Judiciary Committee meeting on mobile privacy scheduled for May 10th at 10:00 AM in Washington, DC. According to the witness list included in the notice, Apple's Bud Tribble will be providing testimony during the session, which is entitled "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy".

The session will begin with a panel featuring representatives from the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, presumably to give background and set the stage for testimony as the legislators attempt to learn more about how consumer privacy is handled with mobile devices. Tribble will be joined on a second panel by Google's public policy director, Alan Davidson, as well as several other witnesses from public interest groups and trade association/lobbying groups.

Tribble serves as vice president of software technology at Apple and has a long history with the company. He served as manager of the Macintosh development team and oversaw the development of Mac OS, and later joined Steve Jobs to found NeXT. Tribble returned to Apple in early 2002.

The Senate hearing was sparked by concerns over location tracking information publicized for being stored on users' iPhones and Android-based handsets. The hearing was initiated by Senator Al Franken, and Jobs reported soon after that Apple intended to participate in the discussions as requested. Senate officials confirmed last week that both Apple and Google would be sending representatives to the hearing.

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2, AirPods Pro 3, and AirPods 4

Thursday November 13, 2025 11:35 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3, the AirPods 4, and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4 firmware is 8B21, all up from the prior 8A358 firmware released in October. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2, AirPods 4 with ANC, and AirPods Pro 3...
Tim Cook WWDC 2018

Report: Tim Cook to Step Down as Apple CEO 'as Soon as Next Year'

Saturday November 15, 2025 2:40 pm PST by
Apple is preparing for Tim Cook to step down as CEO of the company "as soon as next year," according to the Financial Times. The company's board of directors and senior executives "recently intensified preparations for Cook to hand over the reins," the report said. While the report said that Apple is unlikely to name a new CEO before its next earnings report in late January, it went on to ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket Now Available to Order, But Already Selling Out

Friday November 14, 2025 6:20 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. iPhone Pocket is available to order on Apple's online store starting today, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. However, it is already completely sold out in the United...
apple silicon mac lineup 2024 feature purple m5

Apple's 2026 Mac Plans

Friday November 14, 2025 3:23 pm PST by
Most of Apple's Macs are slated to get M5 chips across 2026, and there's a possibility we'll even see the first M6 chips toward the end of the year. Updates are planned for everything from the MacBook Air to the Mac Studio. MacBook Air (Early 2026) The MacBook Air will be one of the first Macs to get a 2026 refresh, with an update planned for the first few months of the year. The MacBook...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
tvOS 26 Profiles

tvOS 26.2 Adds a Useful New Feature to Your Apple TV

Friday November 14, 2025 10:02 am PST by
Starting with the upcoming tvOS 26.2 update, currently in beta, additional profiles created on the Apple TV no longer require their own Apple Account. In the Settings app on the Apple TV, under Profiles and Accounts, anyone can create a new profile by simply entering a name and indicating whether the profile is for a kid. The profile will be associated with the primary user's Apple Account,...
walmart new ornametns

Walmart Black Friday Deals Begin Today With Low Prices on Headphones, TVs, and More

Friday November 14, 2025 7:55 am PST by
Walmart's Black Friday sale has officially kicked off today, with an online shopping event that's also seeing some matching deals in retail locations. There are quite a few major discounts in this sale, including savings on headphones, TVs, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Walmart. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us...
CarPlay Pinned Messages

iOS 26.2 Adds New CarPlay Setting

Thursday November 13, 2025 6:48 am PST by
iOS 26 extended pinned conversations in the Messages app to CarPlay, for quick access to your most frequent chats. However, some drivers may prefer the classic view with a list of individual conversations only, and Apple now lets users choose. Apple released the second beta of iOS 26.2 this week, and it introduces a new CarPlay setting for turning off pinned conversations in the Messages...
iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...

Top Rated Comments

rdowns Avatar
190 months ago
I was hoping somebody higher up would do it. If they lie or do not give the full truth, we should demand prosecution and a perp walk after arrest.
You never disappoint.

Did it ever occur to you that he may be the most qualified person from Apple to testify?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Fast Shadow Avatar
190 months ago
The trouble with Tribble
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rdowns Avatar
190 months ago




Who? How about Scott Forestall, since based on his job title, he is more involved in iOS.


Good point. Let's ask for the long form birth certificate.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AgingGeek Avatar
190 months ago
title should be "Trouble with Tribble"....

ah, nevermind.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Northgrove Avatar
190 months ago
After hearing Apple's explanation for this geolocation cache, and programming GPS software myself at work, they make perfect sense. The iPhone *is* very quick at receiving a decent position even in less optimal environments. And that's no doubt thanks to it having a decent idea of where you last were. This helps in providing a smooth end-user experience. This is also why Android also did it, no doubt. It's probably no new idea in the industry. *I* should do it in our software too. No need for conspiracies, when logic and information makes better sense.

So...

This title:

"Apple's Bud Tribble to Testify in Senate Hearing on Mobile Privacy"

... could in essence be changed to this:

"Apple to Teach Senate on Geolocation Services"
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
econgeek Avatar
190 months ago
When are we going to see hearings on the massive privacy violations in ObamaCare, the "stimulus" bill (which was mostly about other stuff), the renewal of the PATRIOT act, etc?

The government has removed the concept of privacy as a basic right, which, by the way, the constitution doesn't allow them to do.

There's supreme court rulings on this-- believe it or not, one of they key ones was Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion by finding that anti-abortion laws violated women's right to privacy.

I trust Apple to do the right thing, because they've always done right by me.

I trust the federal government to do the wrong thing, because they've never done right by me, and they've constantly lied about it. (Even the Privacy Act of the 1970s reduced privacy, and the few protections it did provide are routinely violated by the federal government now.)

Oh, right, they can get PR for themselves by going after Apple and %90 of the people never bothered to read the bills I referred to earlier and so have no clue that the government has put privacy violations into law.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)