California Attorney General Kamala Harris today announced an agreement between the state and six mobile application platform companies that will bring mobile privacy policies in line with current state law, according to a press release.
The agreement, established between the Attorney General and Amazon, Apple, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research In Motion, represents a commitment that mobile applications comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. The act requires sites that collect personal information to clearly post a privacy policy for consumers, an action that only 5 percent of mobile applications take, according to Harris’ office.
The six companies that reached the agreement with Harris represent the platforms that release the majority of mobile applications for smartphones, tablets and other devices. Harris met with the companies in August to discuss the issue, and the platforms have now agreed to post privacy policies in a clear location for consumer review before an application is downloaded. The platforms will also work to give users tools for reporting noncompliant applications, according to the press release.
Harris cited the importance of consumer protection in a mobile space where an estimated 98 billion applications will be downloaded by 2015. The newly formed agreement will protect consumer information that can be transmitted through a mobile device, such as location, contacts, identity and pictures. Application developers who do not comply with privacy policies can be prosecuted under the California Unfair Competition Law or the False Advertising Law.
"By ensuring that mobile apps have privacy policies, we create more transparency and give mobile users more informed control over who accesses their personal information and how it is used," Harris said in a statement.
Harris will meet with the platforms in 6 months to again address the issue of mobile privacy, according to her office.
