FTC Says Kid Apps Industry Needs “To Do a Better Job”
The Federal Trade Commission said Monday that most of the mobile apps aimed at kids collect and transmit data about the device on which they’re used and don’t disclose that practice to parents, in a report that criticized the privacy practices of the fast-growing industry.
Nearly 60 percent of 400 popular kids’ apps made for phones and tablets running Google Inc. and Apple Inc. mobile software transmitted information about the device to the app’s developer or, more commonly, a third party such as an advertising network, FTC tests found. Meanwhile, just 20 percent of the apps reviewed disclosed any information about their data collection, the commission said.
