According to a report released Monday by Federal Trade Commission (FTC), many mobile apps collect children's information such as device IDs, phone numbers, location data and much more without their parents' permission, reports The Guardian.
The FTC will be investigating many app companies to verify if any of these firms are violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa) or the Federal Trade Commission Act. According to a report in The Guardian, out of 400 apps that are reviewed, 235 apps share information such as device ID, which is the most common and other information like phone numbers, friends list, emails and location data, with third party companies.
"While we think most companies have the best intentions when it comes protecting kids' privacy, we haven't seen any progress when it comes to making sure parents have the information they need to make informed choices about apps for their kids. In fact, our study shows that kids' apps siphon an alarming amount of information from mobile devices without disclosing this fact to parents," FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said.
A survey which was conducted last year by the FTC on children's mobile apps and was released February 2012, showed that mobile app companies failed to address commission's concerns, says The Guardian.
"All of the companies in the mobile app space, especially the gatekeepers of the app stores, need to do a better job," Leibowitz told The Guardian. "We'll do another survey in the future and we will expect to see improvement."
Kathryn Montgomery, Ph.D, said on behalf of Center for Digital Democracy that these findings "reveals widespread disregard for children's privacy rules."
"In the rapidly growing children's mobile market, companies are seizing on new ways to target children, unleashing a growing arsenal of interactive techniques, including geo-location and use of personal contact data. It is clear that there is an urgent need for the FTC to update its COPPA regulations and to engage in ongoing enforcement," she said.
Center for Digital Democracy and other privacy rights groups are together working for the proposed update get approved. If that happens it would not allow any company to collect data from children under 13 without their parents' permission and other third party companies to keep the gathered information secure.
