In the face of calls by the FTC for improved mobile privacy protections, as well as interest by members of Congress, mobile advertising companies are actively working on privacy initiatives.  Yesterday, a group of companies in the mobile advertising industry announced that they are working to create an industry standard for anonymous mobile device identification.  The Companies include Velti PLC, Jumptap, RadiumOne, mdotm, StrikeAd, Smaato, Adfonic and SAY Media.  This standard would replace the need to use unique device ID numbers.

Also this week, TrustE announced the creation of a tool to provide consumers with a single source of information about the information being collected from them both online and through mobile apps.  The TrustED Mobile Ads tool would allow consumers to opt out of receiving mobile ads through this unified platform.

These industry self-regulatory efforts come at a time when the FTC and members of Congress have expressed concern about consumer privacy in the mobile ecosystem.  As we previously reported, last month’s FTC report called for improved mobile privacy protections and urged the mobile industry to develop standards to address data collection, transfer, use, and disposal in the mobile context.  The topic will be addressed at a workshop that the FTC is hosting May 30, 2012.