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US Wants Apple, Google, and Microsoft To Get a Grip On Mobile Privacy

Posted by Soulskill on from the because-they've-done-a-bang-up-job-so-far dept.

coondoggie writes "When it comes to relatively new technologies, few have been developing at the relentless pace of mobile. But with that development has come a serious threat to the security of personal information and privacy. The Federal Trade Commission has issued a report (PDF) on mobility issues and said less than one-third of Americans feel they are in control of their personal information on their mobile devices. 'The report makes recommendations for critical players in the mobile marketplace: mobile platforms (operating system providers, such as Amazon, Apple, BlackBerry, Google, and Microsoft), application (app) developers, advertising networks and analytics companies, and app developer trade associations. ... The report recommends that mobile platforms should: Provide just-in-time disclosures to consumers and obtain their affirmative express consent before allowing apps to access sensitive content like geolocation; Consider developing a one-stop “dashboard” approach to allow consumers to review the types of content accessed by the apps they have downloaded; Consider offering a Do Not Track (DNT) mechanism for smartphone users.'"

1 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Ahhh the good old days... by EETech1 · · Score: 1, Troll

    It seems that the newer smartphone OS's exist to provide your personal life to their creators, and push the limits of the invasion of your privacy, whereas the "last gen" smartphones were trying to provide a pocket-sized computing experience that could be safely used to access sensitive corporate networks, and push the limits of technology.

    We lost something along the way...

    WinMo was never the best technology, or the best OS, but it was built to be a platform you had full control over and you could conceivably trust accessing and storing your private personal and corporate data.

    Look at the incredible amount of work that Google puts into Android only to give it away. It's like downloading cracked software from a warez site that also installs a keylogger. Nothing is free, you're paying with your privacy, and people are waiting in line to trade it for a shiny gadget.

    I'm really hoping BB10, Firefox, Ubuntu or someone (miss you WebOS) steps up to provide a secure user focused phone based computing experience again!