By Roger Fingas
Wednesday, September 19, 2018, 12:44 pm PT (03:44 pm ET)
A frequent critic of the company in regards to China, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio has reportedly sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking why the company didn't immediately react to word a Mac App Store title was exporting browser histories to the country.
Apple waited until after theAdware Doctor story became public to address the issue, including pulling the app, Rubio complained according to Axios . The Florida senator asked whether the company chose to ignore warnings from security researchers a month prior, and how the company will be faster to act next time, for instance by auditing updates quickly and/or instituting new security controls for apps.
"For a company that prides itself on prioritizing user privacy and security, this delayed response is extremely disconcerting," Rubio and his office wrote.
One of the researchers who drew attention to Adware Doctor, former National Security Agency staffer Patrick Wardle, has suggested that Adware Doctor may have been exfiltrating browser histories for years.