Apps

Yesterday, the FTC announced a settlement with Goldenshores Technologies, a company that makes the most-downloaded flashlight app on the Android platform.  The FTC alleged that Goldenshores violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by failing to disclose to consumers that it shared location data it collected from users’ device with

Continue Reading FTC Settles Charges Against Flashlight App Maker

By Dan Cooper and Philippe Bradley

This week the Article 29 Working Party released its Opinion 2/2013 on apps on smart devices (WP 202), a 30-page report on mobile app privacy and data protection considerations. This development follows on the Working Party’s Statement on the draft General Data Protection Regulation on 27 February 2013 (which we previously discussed here). 

The report sets out several sets of prescriptive, but non-binding, recommendations that target app developers, app stores, OS and device manufacturers, and other third party participants in app ecosystems, such as advertisers and network operators that bundle apps with devices. 

This short post sets out a summary of some of the report’s less conventional prescriptions and recommendations, which could present participants in the European digital/mobile ecosystem with significant compliance challenges.Continue Reading EU Data Protection Working Party Sets Out App Privacy Recommendations

A court in Texas recently dismissed a lawsuit it described as “an aspiring class action against a veritable who’s-who of social media companies.”  The Plaintiffs in Opperman v. Path claimed that the Defendants improperly used their smartphone apps to copy, upload, and store Plaintiffs’ address book information without their consent.

Continue Reading Judge Dismisses Putative Class Action Against “Who’s-Who of Social Media Companies”

According to a recent study released by the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF), the number of mobile apps with privacy policies has grown rapidly since September 2011. The study examined the top 25 free and 25 paid apps in the Apple iOS, Google Play, and Kindle Fire app stores, for a total of 150 apps. 

Of the

Continue Reading Study Finds Top Mobile Apps More Transparent About Privacy Practices

The New Jersey Attorney General and Division of Consumer Affairs have announced a settlement with 24x7digital, the developer of the “TeachMe” mobile apps for preschool through second-grade children, to resolve claims that the company violated the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”).   

The state alleged that children were encouraged to submit their

Continue Reading New Jersey AG Settles COPPA Suit Against Mobile App Developer

This week, the U.K.-based GSM Association unveiled voluntary app privacy guidelines, which are being implemented by several major European mobile telephone service operators for their own branded applications.  According to the GSM Association, the companies adopting these guidelines includes Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom – Orange, Telecom Italia, Telefónica, and Vodafone.  This development  follows last week’s announcement of an agreement

Continue Reading European Mobile Operators Agree to App Privacy Guidelines

Yesterday California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced an agreement she forged among Amazon, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, and Research in Motion to ensure that mobile device apps that collect personal information contain privacy policies.  The agreement is designed to ensure that mobile apps comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act

Continue Reading Mobile Platforms Agree to Require Apps to Display Privacy Policies

Senator Al Franken recently sent a letter to Apple and Google asking them to require all applications available in the Apple App Store and the Android App Market to have “clear and understandable” privacy policies.  He made a similar request at a Senate hearing on mobile privacy earlier this month. 

Continue Reading Franken Asks Apple and Google To Require Privacy Policies of Mobile Apps

For the fourth time in the past two months, Apple has been sued for allegedly violating the privacy of iPad and iPhone users.  Like the previous three suits (two of which we discussed in this post), Rodimer v. Apple, Inc. [PDF] alleges that Apple transmitted “personal information,” including Unique Device

Continue Reading Apple Sued Again For Alleged Privacy Violations

Last week, iPhone and iPad App users filed two separate class action complaints against Apple and iOS App developers in the Northern District of California.  (The complaints are currently captioned Freeman v. Apple, Inc. and Lalo v. Apple, Inc.)  In both, the plaintiffs charge the defendant

Continue Reading CFAA and Wiretap Act Claims Filed Against Apple and App Developers