FTC Investigating Kids Apps Over Privacy Concerns

[MacRumors]

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has released a report examining apps aimed at children on the App Store and the Google Play marketplace. The report, entitled Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade, is a followup from a survey of kids' apps performed in 2011 that also looked at privacy policies and other practices for apps aimed at children.

Staff examined hundreds of apps for children and looked at disclosers and links on each app's promotion page in the app store, on the app developer's website, and within the app. According to the report, "most apps failed to provide any information about the data collected through the app, let alone the type of data collected, the purpose of the collection, and who would obtain access to the data. Even more troubling, the results showed that many of the apps shared certain information with third parties - such as device ID, geolocation, or phone number - without disclosing that fact to parents. Further, a number of apps contained interactive features - such as advertising, the ability to make in-app purchases, and links to social media - without disclosing these features to parents prior to download."

It's not just a report that the FTC is issuing -- the Commission is going further, launching "non-public investigations to determine whether certain entities in the mobile app marketplace are violating" Federal law.

It's unclear where the investigations will lead, but it isn't the first governmental look into the privacy policies of apps. The state of California recently sued Delta Air Lines over its iOS app, claiming that Delta hasn't provided a sufficient privacy policy for the app. The company has such a policy for its web site, but not a separate one that addresses the Fly Delta app.

The Federal Trade Commission has been very active in the tech and Apple worlds for years. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) asked the FTC to examine the practices of photo uploads to app developers earlier this year, and the FTC has previously examined the practice of a PR-firm arranging fake app reviews of App Store games.

Article Link: FTC Investigating Kids Apps Over Privacy Concerns

[dankly]

Google data mining children....nothing wrong with that!
Poor google get such a hard time for such a credible organization.

[gotluck]

Originally Posted by dankly

Google data mining children....nothing wrong with that!
Poor google get such a hard time for such a credible organization.

This article is not about Google.
Good reading comprehension!

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by gotluck

This article is not about Google.
Good reading comprehension!

You must be reading a different article than the rest of us.

[gotluck]

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

You must be reading a different article than the rest of us.

Nah that would be you as usual.

[LagunaSol]

Originally Posted by gotluck

Nah that would be you as usual.

Try the very first sentence in the very first post of this thread.

[Renzatic]

I glanced through the AP link, and the closest anyone comes to mentioning Google is...

...The FTC described the marketplace for mobile applications - dominated by online stores operated by Apple and Google - as a digital danger zone with inadequate oversight.

Unless you think the phrase "privacy concerns" is an automatic bash against Google specifically, the article is more about the apps in general on both platforms.

[ncaissie]

Originally Posted by dankly

Google data mining children....nothing wrong with that!
Poor google get such a hard time for such a credible organization.

Originally Posted by LagunaSol

You must be reading a different article than the rest of us.

Originally Posted by Renzatic

What does Google have to do with this? I didn't see a single mention of them anywhere in the article...

edit:...okay, at the very top.

Read again it says the app store and Google play store. But they are investigating the developers not Apple and Google.

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by gotluck

This article is not about Google.
Good reading comprehension!

So I guess you just read the first 20 words and decided to take a break?

Man, are you gonna be surprised when you come back with your snack and start back with the 21st word in the article.

[gotluck]

Originally Posted by Small White Car

So I guess you just read the first 20 words and decided to take a break?

Man, are you gonna be surprised when you come back with your snack and start back with the 21st word in the article.

This is about apps...

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by gotluck

This is about apps...

In both Apple's store and Google's store.

How can you talk about things in a store and say it has nothing to do with the stores?

[everything-i]

Originally Posted by Small White Car

So I guess you just read the first 20 words and decided to take a break?

Man, are you gonna be surprised when you come back with your snack and start back with the 21st word in the article.

That just says apps available on Google market place, not apps provided by Google. I don't get how this is in any way aimed at Google apps collecting data for Google as your post implies

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by everything-i

That just says apps available on Google market place, not apps provided by Google. I don't get how this is in any way aimed at Google apps collecting data for Google as your post implies

dankly's post said that. Mine did not.

Mine simply said that the report and the article involved Google, which it clearly does. (Just as it involved Apple and it involves app developers and it involves the government).

[mrsir2009]

Originally Posted by gotluck

This article is not about Google.
Good reading comprehension!

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has released a report examining apps aimed at children on the App Store and the Google Play marketplace. The report, entitled Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade, is a followup from a survey of kids' apps performed in 2011 that also looked at privacy policies and other practices for apps aimed at children.

Good reading comprehension!

[gotluck]

Originally Posted by mrsir2009

Good reading comprehension!

For gods sake yes the article mentions google but it is about apps!

I cant tell if you are playing with me or not

[phillipduran]

Originally Posted by gotluck

This article is not about Google.
Good reading comprehension!

The linked report Mobile Apps for Kids: Disclosures Still Not Making the Grade, is partly about the Google app store. The report points out the app stores are included in the list of parties the FTC urges to address the privacy disclosure issues.

Would that be good reading comprehension on my part?

----------

Originally Posted by Renzatic

I glanced through the AP link, and the closest anyone comes to mentioning Google is...



Unless you think the phrase "privacy concerns" is an automatic bash against Google specifically, the article is more about the apps in general on both platforms.

The google app store is mentioned by the FTC in the linked report.

[Renzatic]

Originally Posted by phillipduran

The google app store is mentioned by the FTC in the linked report.

So is the Apple app store, what's your point?

It doesn't change the fact the article isn't about Google specifically, rather about the mobile app landscape in general. I haven't read to the bottom of the AP article yet, but from the first 2/3rds, neither Google nor Apple are singled out as being better or worse than the other.

So why treat it as such here? "olol, just Google being evil", they said, as Apple quietly does the same thing.

[dankly]

Originally Posted by dankly

Google data mining children....nothing wrong with that!
Poor google get such a hard time for such a credible organization.

Originally Posted by gotluck

This article is not about Google.
Good reading comprehension!

No but its about underhanded data mining of children. Google lead the way in data mining and are the world leaders in that area these companies learn from googles methods. Bigger picture my egotistical compadre

[28monkeys]

Originally Posted by gotluck

This article is not about Google.
Good reading comprehension!

LoL eat your own words

[gotluck]

Originally Posted by 28monkeys

LoL eat your own words

...still don't get it?

This article was about app developers collecting data on children, not Google...

[Renzatic]

What does Google have to do with this? I didn't see a single mention of them anywhere in the article...

edit:...okay, at the very top.

[Small White Car]

When all these app stores started gaining popularity in 2008 and 2009 they called it a gold rush for developers.

Predictably, the gold rush has led to a sort of wild west where there are very few sheriffs.

Ah well, like all other forms of media, eventually apps will all be consolidated and bought up by Disney and Viacom and that will solve that.

[morespce54]

Originally Posted by Small White Car

When all these app stores started gaining popularity in 2008 and 2009 they called it a gold rush for developers.

Predictably, the gold rush has led to a sort of wild west where there are very few sheriffs.

Ah well, like all other forms of media, eventually apps will all be consolidated and bought up by Disney and Viacom and that will solve that.

Right. Then, children data-mining will be "legal" (read: bless by pretty much all institutions!)

[mabhatter]

Originally Posted by dankly

Google data mining children....nothing wrong with that!
Poor google get such a hard time for such a credible organization.

According to most schools, kids don't HAVE a right to privacy.

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The article had me going until the mentioned suing Delta over their on app privacy... The FTC suing an AIRLINE because their mobile app collects three pieces of information and doesn't tell you???? Really that's a big problem... I mean ACTUALLY paying agents to molest people and viewing customers with clothes removing radar would seem to be a bigger issue than collecting my phone number... The amount of REAL personal info you have to turn over to USE their services is far more invasive that a mobile app.

This is "look busy" work for privacy groups that doesn't actually mean anything. Nothing more.

[faroZ06]

Originally Posted by dankly

Google data mining children....nothing wrong with that!
Poor google get such a hard time for such a credible organization.

I don't think you read this at all.

----------

Originally Posted by ConCat

Amen. People don't realize how much of their life they waste playing games these days. I understand playing Angry Birds in a waiting room somewhere, but my issue is with people who identify themselves as a "Gamer". Games should be for recreation only and not a second life. A lot of people waste many hours of each day playing some game or another, when they could be doing something that actually contributes something to society. Games are pure dopamine. You can get that doing many other things; ****, you might even make a living at the same time.

That's not totally true. A lot of FPS games are mindless, but I've found that all the kids who play some games, mostly Nintendo games, are the best at math and science. But people who are true "gamers" are usually (not always) pitiful. The annoying thing is when they claim that PC gaming is better than console gaming and say that console-playing people are "noobs". Yeah, a gaming PC is better, but paying that much to play silly games is pointless.