Amazon has responded (PDF) to Congressional questions regarding the Silk Web browser in its new Kindle Fire tablet, but Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) says the responses aren't enough.
In answering Markey's earlier questions about Silk, Amazon's reply makes the case that Silk doesn't violate user privacy. To speed up Web access, Silk can route all requests through Amazon's cloud infrastructure, which caches various bits of websites and does server-side processing of some material in order to make the browsing experience faster. (Silk can also be switched to operate like a more traditional browser, with Web requests going directly to their target websites.)
Markey had questions about privacy. With Web requests routing through Amazon, the company would have a huge trove of information on users. Amazon says that it will only log Web addresses for 30 days and will not associate them with specific customers. It will cache Web content, but only that which is approved for caching by website operators (though the use of caching headers). And all encrypted SSL traffic will flow directly from the Fire to target servers, not passing through Amazon's infrastructure.
So Silk will only collect aggregate information about Internet browsing habits. How will it be used? Amazon says it currently has no plans to sell or rent the information, though it will certainly use it internally. "Customer information is an important part of our business and an important driver of customer experience and future invention," wrote the company.
The two-page letter didn't satisfy Markey, who said in a statement, "Amazon’s responses to my inquiries do not provide enough detail about how the company intends to use customer information, beyond acknowledging that the company uses this valuable information Amazon is collecting a massive amount of information about Kindle Fire users, and it has a responsibility to be transparent with its customers. I plan to follow up with the company for additional answers on this issue."
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