EU Asks Apple and Google To Better Police Apps Targeting Children

The European Union is trying to determine how best to protect children from app developers who target them through "Freemium" business models.  According to Wikipedia, Freemium is a pricing strategy by which a product or service (typically a digital offering such as software, media, games or web services) is provided free of charge, however, money is required for advanced features, functionality, or virtual goods.

European consumer protection officials are focusing their inquiry on Apple and Google because of their strong market position in the app ecosystem.  According to the EU, the 4 main issues that need to be addressed include: 1) Games advertised as “free” should not mislead consumers about the true costs involved;  2) Games should not contain direct exhortations to children to buy items in a game or to persuade an adult to buy items for them; 3) Consumers should be adequately informed about the payment arrangements and purchases should not be debited through default settings without consumers’ explicit consent; 4) Traders should provide an email address so that consumers can contact them in case of queries or complaints. 

In a press release regarding this matter, Vice-President Viviane Reding, the EU’s Justice Commissioner stated, "Misleading consumers is clearly the wrong business model and also goes against the spirit of EU rules on consumer protection. The European Commission will expect very concrete answers from the app industry to the concerns raised by citizens and national consumer organizations."

Earlier this year, Apple agreed to an FTC settlement and promised to pay at least $32.5 million dollars to settle a complaint that alleged proper parental permission was not always obtained when children made app purchases on its platform.  This was another warning shot to the app ecosystem that it must do a better job of protecting children and families    

The bottom line is that regulators around the world are ramping up their investigations and enforcement actions against companies that target children online.  Therefore, corporate best practices should ensure that children's interests are protected when interacting with them on digital platforms.  

Copyright 2014 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.

Court: Facebook Must Comply With German Data Protection Laws

U.S. companies need to realize that they must follow the laws of the countries that they operate in.  Facebook, Google, etc... appear not to understand the proverb, "when in Rome do as the Romans do" should mean that when doing business around the world they must abide by the data protection and privacy laws of the countries where they offer their services.

The Higher Court of Berlin recently confirmed a 2012 verdict that found that Facebook’s Friend Finder violated German law because it was unclear to users that they imported their entire address book into the social network when using it.  The court further confirmed that Facebook’s privacy policy and terms of service violate German law.

Facebook and Google appear to believe that EU data protection laws should not apply to them.  Both of these companies have been sued multiple times and paid fines and/or entered into judicial settlements in the tens of millions of dollars for privacy violations.  Unfortunately, these fines are pocket change to them.  Should our personal privacy and cyber-safety be protected and valued in the same way as consumer anti-trust protections?

Copyright 2014 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.   

ESPN.com's Commenting Policy Harms Personal Privacy and Assists Data Brokers

I love watching the Olympics.  Team USA's gold medal winning performance in men's ice hockey in 1980 inspired me to start playing ice hockey when I was a kid.  In the 1980's, there was a foosball like arcade game that had Team USA v. USSR (CCCP) face off in a mini hockey rink that I enjoyed playing.

While recently reading an ESPN.com article about the latest U.S. v. Russia men's ice hockey game today I decided to review the comments section of the article.  I noticed that ESPN.com has joined other websites in using Facebook's comment platform.  This is unfortunate since Facebook's commenting platform is a threat to personal privacy, the freedom of speech, and it assists data brokers. 

Approximately a year ago, Facebook partnered with data brokers Axciom, Epsilon, Datalogix and Blue Kai to provide them a treasure trove of personal information about its users.  This partnership has greatly deteriorated the personal privacy of Facebook users and their "Facebook Friends".  Therefore, any comment one makes about Team USA beating Russia in the Olympics may then be placed in one's data broker file.  This information may then be utilized to discriminate against those who make a public comment using Facebook's platform.  

Americans have utilized public forums to anonymously comment on issues of the day since at least the time of the Federalist Papers in 1788.  Facebook's comment platform destroys anonymity and deters open public discourse.  Those who utilize Facebook's comment platform may not realize that every comment they make is tied to them forever. 

The bottom line is that social media users may need to become better educated regarding how commercial entities are tracking them online and how data brokers may be a greater threat to our personal privacy, safety, and security than the NSA, a foreign government, or hackers. 

Copyright 2014 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.