Apps for kids get poor grades for privacy
Apps for kids get poor grades for privacy
By Cecilia Kang.
The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday criticized the privacy policies of mobile apps aimed at children and Apple's and Google's apps stores, saying a broad range of information about young users could be being collected and parents aren't being adequately informed that it might be happening.
In a report titled "Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures Are Disappointing," the FTC said it surveyed apps designed for children and found that data such as geolocation, phone numbers, contact lists, call logs and other "unique identifiers" could be being collected.
But the consumer protection agency said the Apple iTunes store and Google's Android Marketplace failed to disclose the collection and sharing of that data by businesses.
"Companies that operate in the mobile marketplace provide great benefits, but they must step up to the plate and provide easily accessible, basic information, so that parents can make informed decisions about he apps their kids use," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.
Lawmakers and the FTC have been showing much greater interest in the protection of children, from toddlers to teens, online. Children and teens are among the most active users of smartphones and tablets, and scores of apps are targeted directly at them, from teaching them the alphabet to propelling Angry Birds.
The FTC recommended that app developers provide simple and short disclosures on how they collect and share information about users, including whether children's data are connected with social media apps such as Facebook. The agency said parents should be informed if kids' apps have ads - a concern of privacy groups who say games and other youth-oriented apps contain behavioral, and sometime mature, ads hawking everything from soda to concert tickets to children.
App stores such as iTunes and Android Marketplace should also give parents more information about privacy practices of the apps it sells and allows users to download for free.
"As gatekeepers of the apps marketplace, the app stores should do more," the staff report suggested. The FTC noted that apps stores create their own age ratings for apps.
An apps trade group agreed that developers need to do a better job of informing users of the privacy policies. But federal rules are confusing for app makers, who often don't know what their requirements are.
"Many children's education app developers are unaware of existing privacy regulations and how they may be interpreted to prevent seemingly innocuous features," said Morgan Reed, executive director of trade group The Association for Competitive Technology.
Privacy advocates have pushed federal regulators for greater enforcement of privacy violations on kids apps. They lament that parents are often left with little guidance on what kids of data is being collected about their children online and if that data is being shared with third-parties to target the preferences of individual users.
Sometimes, according to public interest group Common Sense Media, ads and inappropriate content are deeply in apps, when users progress levels of a game, for instance.
Parents need to be clearly informed if a puzzle game or other children's apps are connected to social media features such as chat rooms and apps like Google+ or Facebook, the agency said. Such third-parties can also collect data about users without their knowing.
"Consumers, especially children, should not have to contend with mobile phone spies," said Jeff Chester, executive director of privacy advocacy group, The Center for Digital Democracy. "Both Google and Apple, the two leading mobile app companies, must do a much better job protecting children's privacy."
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17.02.2012. u 07:11 | 0 Komentara | Print | # | ^
