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FTC Says App Makers Still Collecting Too Much Kid Data

Dec 10, 2012, 11:54 AM by Eric M. Zeman

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today published a report on its findings concerning mobile applications used by children. The FTC concludes that app makers, handset makers, and network operators have not made much progress in protecting the information of children. Specifically, the FTC says app makers are not proving parents with enough information about the type of data being collected, nor what is done with that data. Many of the apps are transmitting data — including location details — to the developer, advertisers, and analytic firms. "Our study shows that kids' apps siphon an alarming amount of information from mobile devices without disclosing this fact to parents," said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz in a statement. "All of the companies in the mobile app space, especially the gatekeepers of the app stores, need to do a better job." In response, the Obama administration said it plans to investigate the makers of these apps to see if they are violating privacy laws regarding minors.

Associated Press »

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Comments

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This forum is closed.

johnhr2

Dec 10, 2012, 12:16 PM

UMMM....

For one, parents NEED to take the responsibility of their children.
For two, a kid not in high school should not have a smartphone.
For three, if a child is a home a lot and need a phone a feature phone will work just fine.
For four, cell companies are selling "wireless" home phones were the base station of the phone receive the phone coverage.
For five, shouldn't we be worried in general about all the data they collect from adults sense they are the ones using these the device the most, and not just minors.
Lastly, why do kids have smartphones in the first place?

Globhead

johnhr2 said:
For one, parents NEED to take the responsibility of their children.

The whole point is that they CAN'T take responsibility if they don't have any way of knowing what an app does.

For two

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