U.S. Government proposes new privacy ‘rules’ for apps

Image: technotin.com

App developers may soon be asked to tell us what data they collect, and how it is used, under a set of government proposals released today (via TNW). 

The US government’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration today issued its first draft of what will be a mobile apps code of conduct intended to better protect consumers and their privacy. If made final, policy states that publishers must provide consumers with “short-form” notices in multiple languages informing them of how their data is being used […]

Just so that there’s no doubt about what “data” means, the government entity specifically says it includes biometrics, browser history, phone or text log, contacts, financial info, health, medical, or therapy info, location, and user files …

There is rather more doubt, however, about how effective the proposals might prove … 

Moving at the speed you might expect of a government body, it’s taken a year to get as far as the proposal stage, and there’s no telling how much longer it may take before the guidelines become law, if indeed they do. Oh, and if they do, there’s no requirement for app developers to comply, as the process will be voluntary.

We can only hope public pressure to adopt the measures will work where legislation, it appears, won’t.