I came in thinking that this was going to be about the Baidu IME Japanese language input (which caused quite a stir earlier this year iirc, for the same kind of

I came in thinking that this was going to be about the Baidu IME Japanese language input (which caused quite a stir earlier this year iirc, for the same kind of logging and tracking -- though I think the information wasn't as extensive as this). Lo and behold, it's much worse than that. Wasn't it Sony that installed some kind of spyware in its VAIO machines or its anti-piracy SW or something along those lines? When will they ever learn? And there will likely never be an explanation for what they were trying to do here. They are already in a precarious position in the smartphone market with most of their sales coming from Japan (and Sony Ericsson becoming just Sony Mobile back in 2012). What were they going to do if shit really hit the fan and this went to mass media in Japan as the "Chinese spyware phone" given the tension between the two countries, especially given Japanese QE over the last 1.5+ years? Consumer sentiment is pretty irrational. I can easily see a situation where they get labeled as a "traitorous company" and a boycott starts, at least vs their mobile division. Shortsightedness at its finest. I want to root for this company so badly yet every few years they do boneheaded things like this and make me utterly despise their stupidity. edit: On further thought I bet this is created by some pre-installed default Baidu app that Sony QA didn't vet properly or didn't give a damn about. Or maybe QA found the folder + the connection to China, but it was quashed by management for "strategic reasons". The latter seems more likely, since the engineers I know at Sony (at least in SCEI) are pretty damn good.