A study conducted on child-directed Android apps from Google Play Store found over half may break US privacy law for under 13s
According to the study, almost 5,800 Android apps on the Play Store potentially violate the United States' child privacy law.
A new study titled Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies has found that more than half of Android apps directed toward children under 13 potentially violate the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), as reported by The Guardian. Additionally, the study — led by researchers at the International Computer Science Institute at the University of California, Berkeley — says the apps that are improperly collecting and sharing data are all included in Google’s Designed for Families program.
Just like with fake news, Facebook’s actions, or inactions, are sending ripples throughout the tech industry. Data privacy has become a hot topic again and people are putting more and more services under a microscope. Just like YouTube, a new study from researchers affiliated with the International Computer Science Institute reports that thousands of Android apps could be in violation … Continue reading
There's little doubt that mobile apps sometimes overstep their bounds by collecting more data from kids than the law allows. But how often does that happen? It might be more than you think. Researchers using an automated testing process have discovered that 3,337 family- and child-oriented Android apps on Google Play were improperly collecting kids' data, potentially putting them in violation of the US' COPPA law (which limits data collection for kids under 13). Only a small number were particularly glaring violations, but many apps exhibited behavior that could easily be seen as questionable.
A majority of free Android apps for children may violate the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by collecting personal data from users, according to a new study.
Thousands of free, popular children's apps available on the Google Play Store could be violating child privacy laws, according to a new, large-scale study, highlighting growing criticism of Silicon Valley's data collection efforts.
Thousands of free, popular children's apps available on the Google Play Store could be violating child privacy laws, according to a new, large-scale study, highlighting growing criticism of Silicon Valley's data collection efforts.
Following Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, tech companies are putting a renewed focus on user privacy. But a new study suggests that thousands of apps in the Google Play store are potentially violating US laws by collecting an excessive amount of data from kids.
We have written about the Children Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) before. A new automated study found over 3,300 apps on the Google Play Store that exhibit behavior which could violate COPPA. Some my ask why the Play store is mentioned but not the App Store. It appears that the information for Apple's marketplace is more limited and was outside the scope of this study