Editing Software bug (section)

== Controversy ==

Sometimes the use of ''bug'' to describe the behavior of software is contentious due to perception. Some suggest that the term should be abandoned; contending that ''bug'' implies that the defect arose on its own and push to use ''defect'' instead since it more clearly indicates they are caused by a human.<ref>{{cite web
|website=News at SEI
|publisher=[[Software Engineering Institute]]
|title=News at SEI – Bugs or Defects?
|date=April 1, 1999
|first=Watts S.
|last=Humphrey
|author-link=Watts Humphrey
|url=https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/documents/2648/1999_102_001_413932.pdf
|at=page 73 of 154 in PDF file
|access-date=2025-02-02
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015130719/https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/documents/2648/1999_102_001_413932.pdf
|archive-date=2023-10-15
|url-status=live
}} (linked from [https://insights.sei.cmu.edu/library/news-at-sei-1999-archive/ News at SEI 1999 Archive])</ref>

Some contend that ''bug'' may be used to [[coverup|cover up]] an intentional design decision. In 2011, after receiving scrutiny from US Senator [[Al Franken]] for recording and storing users' locations in unencrypted files,<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Gregg Keizer
|title=Apple faces questions from Congress about iPhone tracking
|date=April 21, 2011
|journal=[[Computerworld]]
|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/1546216/apple-faces-questions-from-congress-about-iphone-tracking2.html}}</ref>
Apple called the behavior a bug. However, Justin Brookman of the [[Center for Democracy and Technology]] directly challenged that portrayal, stating "I'm glad that they are fixing what they call bugs, but I take exception with their strong denial that they track users."<ref>{{cite journal
|author=Gregg Keizer
|title=Apple denies tracking iPhone users, but promises changes
|journal=[[Computerworld]]
|date=April 27, 2011
|url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/1534426/apple-denies-tracking-iphone-users-but-promises-changes}}</ref>