Senator Al Franken (D-MN)—showing interest in the potential privacy issues surrounding the use of Carrier IQ’s mobile device monitoring software—sent a letter on Wednesday to Larry Lenhart, CEO and President of Carrier IQ, asking exactly how the software, and collected data is being used. Of considerable interest is how the software may violate federal laws. From the letter:

These actions may violate federal privacy laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This is potentially a very serious matter.

Carrier IQ has until December 14, 2011 to provide answers.