FTC Publishes Privacy Guidelines for Mobile Devices
Feb 1, 2013, 1:10 PM by Eric M. Zeman
updated Feb 2, 2013, 11:11 PM
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today outlined a number of steps players in the mobile industry should take in order to better protect end-user data. The best practices offered by the FTC are aimed at mobile platform developers (e.g., Apple, Google, Microsoft), application developers (e.g., EA, Rovio, Twitter), and advertising networks. The FTC recommends that mobile platform creators implement Do No Track controls, as well as a dashboard through which all privacy data can be accessed/controlled. The FTC thinks app developers should make privacy policies easily accessible, as well as offer just-in-time disclosures to obtain affirmative express consent before collecting and sharing sensitive information. It also recommends that ad networks work with platform and app developers and ensure that Do Not Track measures are followed correctly. "More than other types of technology, mobile devices are typically personal to an individual, almost always on, and with the user," said the FTC. "This can facilitate unprecedented amounts of data collection. FTC staff strongly encourages companies in the mobile ecosystem to work expeditiously to implement the recommendations in this report."
Comments
The Start or the end?
We could go along with this for several years if the good guys play nice and the bad guys take a vacation. I can see that several instances of data breach and/or several in-your-face refusals to follow the recommendations could lead to tighter privacy control and mandatory standards.
This is the END!!!!
The FCC is a government entity. The feds already have all of our information and keep track of it. Any privacy standards are just a farce.
Its the government saying that they want to be the only ones to infringe on our ri...
(continues)