Monday's report (PDF) from the Federal Trade Commission on the privacy practices of mobile apps aimed at kids will likely increase the number of lawmakers willing to support legislation aimed at preventing the tracking of children online. The report's release has already prompted Reps. Joe Barton, R-Texas, and Edward Markey, D-Mass., to call for the passage of their bill (HR 1895), which is intended to prevent companies from tracking children online or through mobile devices. Broader privacy legislation is still considered a tough sell in both chambers of Congress, but legislation that applies only to minors would likely have an easier road to passage. Web companies, however, remain opposed to such measures, arguing the costs of age verification are prohibitive and would stymie innovation online.
The report found that 60 percent of the 400 popular children's apps reviewed transmitted personal or location data to the app developer or a third party, while only 20 percent disclosed anything about their practices. The FTC also chided the industry for taking little action since February, when another FTC report called for app developers to improve their disclosures. The agency plans to investigate whether the apps violate the children's privacy law or the agency's rules, and conduct another survey after the industry has had time to react to the report. The Senate Judiciary Committee will mark up a bill (S 1223) on Thursday that would require all apps to seek permission before tracking users or sharing their location data; the House Bipartisan Privacy Caucus will hold a meeting the same day at which data brokers are expected to explain how they collect and share information on consumers.
Quotable: “If we were issuing a grade for mobile app privacy for children, it would be Incomplete. The FTC’s report clearly reveals that more must be done to arm parents with the most effective tools to protect their children when they are online. Children’s personal information should not be secretly siphoned off by mobile apps without parents’ knowledge or permission. When it comes to kids and their use of the Internet in the new mobile environment, it is especially important that the strongest privacy protections are in place so that children do not have personal information collected or disclosed." — Reps. Markey and Barton Facebook Hires Kerry Spokesperson: Facebook confirmed Monday that it has hired Jodi Seth to be the social networking giant's new manger of policy and communications in D.C. Seth comes to Facebook after spending four years working for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., most recently as communications director. She replaces Andrew Noyes, a former tech policy journalist who spent three years running Facebook's communications team in Washington. Noyes will relocate to the company's California headquarters. FCC Announces Tech Transitions Policy Task Force: FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced the formation of an agencywide Technology Transitions Policy Task Force on Monday, featuring several of the agency's senior officials. The task force will coordinate the agency's efforts to encourage broadband and wireless expansion and adoption, while also reviewing the agency's policies to generate recommendations for modernization. Genachowski said the need for the task force was driven by the nation's transition from wired to wireless communications networks, among other issues. Russia, UAE Pull Web Governance Proposal After Protests: A proposal backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates, and other Arab states was pulled from discussion Monday in Dubai after protests by Web activists who oppose any government interference in the management of the Internet, according to a report from the AP. The proposal, which is steadfastly opposed by the United States, argued that all nations have "equal rights to manage the Internet." The United States and Canada have resisted any changes to the current host of nonprofits that manages the Web all year, arguing that other nations are seeking the ability to censor or block content. The American preference of a free and open Internet appears to be winning out in Dubai, but stay tuned as the conference continues this week. Democrats Oppose Changes to Media Ownership Rules: 44 House Democrats, including numerous members of the Congressional Black Caucus, wrote to the FCC recently (PDF) asking Chairman Genachowski to reconsider changing its media ownership rules. The rules prevent one company from owning multiple radio and TV outlets in a single local market, but the FCC has discussed loosening them to better reflect the consolidated state of the media market. The letter argues that further consolidation would only lessen the diversity of media outlets, so they no longer reflect the communities they serve. The lawmakers also note the low percentage of outlets that are owned by women or minorities, with women owning just 7 percent of full-power broadcast licenses and minorities controlling only 3.6 percent of such TV stations and 8 percent of radio stations.