By Sandy Andrews
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has said that neither Apple's App Store nor Google's Android Market offer sufficient information as to what data is collected by its almost 1 billion mobile applications from children who use their programs.
According to survey conducted by the FTC of mobile apps for children, app stores and app developers do not provide the information that parents must know related to what data are these apps curating from their kids; how and by whom is the data being utilized. The agency, which cites protecting the privacy of children as one of its biggest aims, isn't happy with the outcome.
Last week saw much debate about what data apps access and how they use. Social network service Path admitted that it stored iPhone users' phone address book data on its servers without prior consent from users. Other iPhone apps such as Foursquare and Foodspotting acknowledged something similar too.
On the complaint of U.S. lawmakers, Apple vowed that any app that accesses contact data will need to take prior explicit user approval in the future. The FTC, on the other hand, studied the disclosures apps intended for children, determining the data collected by such programs.
The data in question comprises users' geo-location, phone numbers, contact lists, amongst other data stored on the device, alongside ratings and parental controls for several apps in the 500,000 apps-strong App Store, and the 380,000 apps-bearing Android Market.
"While there was a diverse pool of kids apps created by hundreds of different developers, there was almost no information about the data collection and sharing on the Apple App store promotion pages and little information beyond general permission statements on the Android Market promotion pages," wrote the FTC.
"In most instances, staff was unable to determine from the information on the app store page or the developer's landing page whether an app collected any data, let alone the type of data collected, the purpose for such collection, and who..obtained access to such data," the agency added.
In a statement, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz wrote that firms with a presence in the mobile market must provide easily accessible, basic information in order for parents to make informed decisions regarding these apps before they download them for their children.
The agency is calling out for all app stores, developers and third parties services to inform parents about the data that their apps collect on kids. The FTC is also advocating that app stores like Apple's App Store and Google's Android Market provide a mechanism for sharing pricing and category data, and also a venue for developers where they provide information regarding their data collection and sharing practices.
