Tag Archives: Federal Trade Commission

Google standing by hotly contested change in privacy policy

WASHINGTON — Google is maintaining that a privacy policy implemented Thursday is not the dangerous change civil liberties experts are claiming it could become.

The new approach combines the privacy policies of more than 60 Google products into a uniform code that emphasizes what the search giant considers a “more intuitive user experience.”

In an official Google blog post Thursday, Alma Whitten, the company’s director of privacy, product and engineering, wrote that the policy adjustment makes Google’s privacy controls easier to understand. Beyond that, nothing has been drastically modified, she said in the blog post.

“The new policy doesn’t change any existing privacy settings or how any personal information is shared outside of Google,” Whitten wrote. “We aren’t colleting any new or additional information about users. We won’t be selling your personal data. And we will continue to employ industry-leading security to keep your information safe.”

The company has contended a more universal policy will work to its users’ advantage in the long run. For example, under the new privacy policy, one Google product could generate traffic conditions if another Google product pinpoints the user in a certain geographic location.

Since the altered privacy policy was disclosed earlier this year, it has touched off a wave of international criticism from everyone from civil liberties watchdogs to elected officials.

In late February, 36 attorneys general signed an open letter dinging Google for not allowing users to opt out of the new privacy policy. The message, addressed to Google CEO Larry Page, addes that the privacy shift allows a user’s personal information to be shared across multiple services even if the user signs up on only one service.

The privacy policy revamping basically results in personal data being “held hostage in the Google ecosystem,” the members of the National Association of Attorneys General said in the letter.

The association’s missive came several days after the Electronic Privacy Information Center sued the Federal Trade Commission as a way of persuading it to curb Google’s impending policy change.

And on Thursday, European Union Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding declared the consolidated privacy policy goes against European law. She told the BBC that the search giant is not following transparency rules as it collects personal information across Google’s dozens of platforms, including YouTube and Blogger.

Google has greeted each challenge with the same defense: Its new, unified privacy policy follows all applicable laws and makes using its services easier for all users.

The company told a reporter for The Washington Post’s Post Tech blog that it remains “happy to discuss this approach with regulators globally.”

Thursday’s Google blog post confirmed the company’s confidence in its privacy policy revision.

“As you use our products one thing will be clear: It’s the same Google experience that you’re used to, with the same controls,” Whitten wrote.

 

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FTC reports mobile apps collecting personal data on minors

WASHINGTON—Mobile apps marketed toward kids are no longer just fun and games—in fact, the Federal Trade Commission says some apps are illegally or, at minimum, unethically infringing on privacy.

According to a Feb. 16 report released by the FTC, developers and vendors of mobile apps are violating the privacy of young consumers by collecting their personal information without parental consent. The FTC is specifically targeting smartphone providers Google and Apple to create more transparency in their data collection methods. This would provide parents with upfront information about the apps used by their children.

“Companies that operate in the mobile marketplace provide great benefits, but they must step up to the plate and provide easily accessible, basic information so that parents can make informed decisions about the apps their kids use,” FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement.

The report, titled Mobile Apps for Kids: Current Privacy Disclosures are Disappointing, said that a majority of the apps promoted by Google and Apple target minors. The ability of seemingly harmless puzzles and memory games to access and transmit users’ information is of “greatest concern.”

“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 collected or obtained access to such data,” the report said.

As the mobile app marketplace continues to expand, more people are turning to smartphones and tablets to entertain their children. However, many consumers don’t realize that app developers can share collected data with third parties such as advertisers and social media outlets. This information includes, according to the report, precise geolocation, phone number, contact lists, call history and “unique device identifiers.”

“Consumers, especially children, should not have to contend with mobile spies,” Jeff Chester, executive director of the privacy advocacy group Center for Digital Democracy, told The Washington Post in an interview. “Both Google and Apple, the two leading mobile app companies, must do a much better job protecting children’s privacy.”

The New York Times reported a statement issued by Google in response to the FTC’s criticism. Google said it is reviewing the report.

“From the beginning, Android has had an industry-leading permission system, which informs consumers what data an app can access and requires user approval before installation,” said Google spokesman Randall Sarafa.

The release of the FTC report follows news that app developers are bypassing privacy policies and taking data from smartphone address books, a controversial move that has left technology companies and privacy advocates split.

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FTC may become privacy watchdog

The Federal Trade Commission is seeing increasing pressure to step up its regulation in online privacy issues.

A battery of cases brought to the FTC for evaluation have asked the agency to rule on whether businesses are tricking customers into giving up private information and recently proposed bills in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seek to expand the reach of the commission’s enforcement authority.

“The FTC has strangely become this kind of de facto regulating agency for the privacy practices of business and industry,” said Woodrow Hartzog, a fellow at the University of North Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communication who specializes in privacy and online communication.

The FTC enforces business regulations and protects consumers from unfair or deceptive practices. The commission can fine violators or request the Department of Justice to file suit. An FTC spokeswoman did not respond to requests for an interview.

Complaints range from the practice of computational advertising, also known as real-time ad auctions where companies buy an ad personalized to a consumer in the fraction of a second it takes a web page to load, based on the text that person types into a web browser. Some privacy groups object to such advertizing on the grounds that individuals who are subject to it can neither opt out nor profit from the use of data about them.

On April 8, a group of privacy organizations filed suit with commission to halt the practice of computational advertising. The groups, including Center for Digital Democracy, U.S. Public Interest Research Groups and World Privacy Forum, in their filing, allege that by observing Internet users’ online behavior, companies that sell online ads (companies like search engine behemoth Google and its marketing subsidiary, Doubleclick) are unfair and deceptive.

“The state of law in the U.S. is we’re ok having no privacy,” Hartzog said. “The problem comes when we’re misled about what we’re agreeing to.”

Some lawmakers are working to better define the boundaries of privacy online. Members of Congress have recently proposed bills seeking to better protect information stored online and in so doing, expand the FTC’s role in enforcing privacy issues.

On May 19, Sen. John Rockefeller (D-WV) introduced the Restore Online Shopper’s Confidence Act which among other provisions seeks to keep online retailers from sharing customers’ billing information with third parties after some such companies were accused of tricking consumers.  A few weeks earlier, Reps. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) introduced a bill requiring websites to prominently display an opt-out feature for data sharing, or else require site visitors to positively opt in to data sharing agreements.

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