Twitter and Facebook asked by US Congress committee for mobile app privacy details "Following recent reports that apps could collect address book information and photos without notice and consent from users of Apple's mobile devices, the members are seeking to better understand what, if any, information these particular apps gather, what they do with it, and what notice they provide to app users," said the two Congressmen who are responsible for sending the letters. The issue is not just one affecting Twitter mobile users. A week earlier, a new American social network called Path, came under fire after it emerged that the site was automatically uploading users" address books and storing the information on its servers, without gaining consent from its members. Consequently Dave Morin, the chief executive of Path, was forced to apologise and change the service's mobile settings. Path members will now be asked first if they wish to opt in to share the content of their mobile address book. An Apple spokesman said at the time: "Apps that collect or transmit a user's contact data without their prior permission are in violation of our guidelines. No company being contacted by the committee is being accused of any wrong doing, but have been selected as they are considered some of the main social networking players in the Apple App Store. Music app start-ups: Souncloud, Turntable,fm and Sountracking have also been targeted by the committee, as well as a popular photo-sharing app called Instagram.