CA Mobile App Privacy Guidelines
Jan 11, 2013
The mobile app privacy guidelines from California reflect the Golden State's position on smartphone user privacy, which is the most aggressive in the U.S., if not the world.
"We are now offering this set of privacy practice recommendations to assist app developers, and others, in considering privacy early in the development process," the attorney general declared. "Californians want to know what personal information their apps collect, how it is used, and with whom it is shared."
Harris is enforcing the California Online Privacy Protection Act to the fullest extent of the law --- and the corporate reprimands and lawsuits have only just begun.
Attorney General Kamala Harris wants mobile technology users to be alerted, with full transparency, about how their personally identifiable information is being treated.
Harris wants privacy policies readable in everyday language easily understood by the average user --- not "legalese" in a microscopic font.The law is the law, and the attorney general's suggestions are suggestions, but companies that intentionally create too much space between the suggestions and the law may come under increased focus.
The California Constitution explicitly guarantees the right to privacy, as the U.S. Constitution does not. If a company's mobile app is made available for Californians to use, it comes under California's constitutional jurisdiction.
California privacy is a global legal issue which can involve potential legal action from Sacramento if California law is either ignored or intentionally skirted.
All are urged to read the privacy guidelines .pdf report from Attorney General Kamala Harris, Privacy on the Go: Recommendations for the Mobile Ecosystem, in its entirety.
The following video features the attorney general's statements on mobile app privacy with questions and answers in a press conference.
California Attorney General | Mobile App Privacy
