The Pontiflex Blog

The FTC Raises Privacy Questions About Mobile Apps for Children

February 16, 2012 at 5:12 pm Avantika Banerjee Leave a comment

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report today regarding the survey of mobile apps for children. The FTC report comes at a time when there is an increasing call for mobile app developers to provide clear and transparent policies regarding data collection and usage.

According to the FTC report:

• “All members of the “kids app ecosystem” – the stores, developers and third parties providing services – should play an active role in providing key information to parents.

• App developers should provide data practices information in simple and short disclosures. They also should disclose whether the app connects with social media, and whether it contains ads. Third parties that collect data also should disclose their privacy practices.

• App stores also should take responsibility for ensuring that parents have basic information. “As gatekeepers of the app marketplace, the app stores should do more.” The report notes that the stores provide architecture for sharing pricing and category data, and should be able to provide a way for developers to provide information about their data collection and sharing practices.”

Privacy, especially that of children, is an important issue. We must all work together to create awareness about what current regulations entail as well as mobile app best practices. This will benefit app users and the industry itself .

Entry filed under: Apps, Best Practices, Mobile, Privacy. Tags: .