Mobile Privacy Guidelines: Too Much of a Good Thing?

In the US, the FTC has issued advice on how the mobile device sector can better inform consumers about their data privacy practices; but the MRA's Howard Fienberg says it and other agencies should 'chill out' and let an ongoing White House review run its course.

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) makes recommendations in its report for mobile platforms, app developers, ad networks and analytics companies to ensure that consumers receive easy-to-understand disclosures about what data they collect and how that data is used. Based on previous FTC research and feedback from a privacy disclosure workshop attended by representatives from industry, trade associations, academia and consumer privacy groups, the new report highlights how mobile technology raises 'unique privacy concerns'.

According to the report, consumers are growing increasingly concerned about their privacy since mobile devices can facilitate vast amounts of data collection and sharing among many organizations. For instance, more than half (57%) of all app users say they have either uninstalled an app over concerns about having to share their personal information, or have declined to install an app in the first place for similar reasons.

Included in the report are recommendations such as the requirement to obtain consumers' express consent before allowing apps to access sensitive content such as geolocation, as well as the development of a dashboard approach to enable consumers to review the types of content accessed by the apps they have downloaded.

The FTC has also suggested that a Do Not Track (DNT) mechanism should be available for smartphone users, to enable them to choose to prevent tracking by ad networks or other third parties as they navigate among the apps on their phones. FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz says these best practices will help to safeguard consumer privacy and build trust in the mobile marketplace.

Howard Fienberg, Director of Government Affairs at the Marketing Research Association (MRA), believes however that the existing White House-led multi-stakeholder process for mobile apps privacy - in which MRA is involved - already covers these issues. While Fienberg admits that the White House process has been a slow one - with the blueprint for the initiative having been issued nearly a year ago - he claims it is steadily reaching its goal.

'We are progressing towards workable transparency measures that could be implemented across the mobile space, and that consumers might actually understand and find useful. Privacy enforcement agencies like the FTC and the California Attorney General need to chill out and let the process work,' he added.

Further information about the FTC and White House initiatives can be found here: www.ftc.gov/os/2013/02/130201mobileprivacyreport.pdf and templatearchive.com/consumer-privacy-bill-of-rights .