240: These Apps Are Stealing Your Most Private Data — And it Needs to Stop
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It’s disappointing if no longer surprising that Facebook and Google siphoning off your most private, personal data isn’t expressly illegal everywhere.
Data theft is still theft and this type of stuff happens so frequently, even with policies, even with fines, that the only way to stop it seems to be by making sure it’s criminal. That if you fail to disclose what data you’re taking and who you’re sharing it with, you’ll face charges. You’ll go to jail.
That the penalty will be so severe that if a founder, CEO, or developer even dreams of violating it, they’ll wake up screaming to delete the code.
And until that happens, the platform owners, Apple, and Microsoft, and yes, even and especially Google, needs to hold every app and every developer accountable.
Require them to disclose, as part of the store page, what data is collected and who it is shared with. In place that’s as easy to see as the price, the compatibility, and the parental guidance.
Then do deeper inspection to detect what, if any, information is being sent to the developer and any quote-unquote analytics they may be using, and if it doesn’t match the disclosure, reject their ass… I mean apps, over and over again, or if willfully and intentionally deceptive, remove their apps and delete their accounts.
And if any developer is the least bit concerned that would have a chilling effect on downloads or a deleterious affect on their business, then they shouldn’t be doing it.
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LINKS:
- You Give Apps Sensitive Personal Information. Then They Tell Facebook. - WSJ
- Will Strafach on Twitter: "this number seems low and is a big reminder that I will need to get more info pushed out to the public about this. WSJ did good work but only scratched the surface.…"
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