Protecting Consumer Privacy on Mobile Devices

The FTC and Congress are paying attention to data collection and privacy issues on mobile devices. After the uproar over the discovery of the iPhone’s storing of unencrypted files of location data on the phone and computers it is synced to, the Senate held a hearing on Protecting Mobile Privacy in May. The result – revelation of the development of the FTC position on privacy through enforcement actions and an upcoming staff report. The FTC testimony at the hearing described recent Section 5 cases in the mobile arena and privacy protection and consumer information security efforts that are applicable to mobile devices. The cases include charges for unsolicited text messages, deceptive iTunes game endorsements, Google Buzz’s misuse of consumer information and Twitter security breaches. In its first case against unsolicited text messages, the FTC charged Philip Flora with the unfair practice of sending unsolicited text messages and deceptively claiming an affiliation with the federal government for his claims about loan modification possibilities. Reverb Communication’s posting positive reviews of mobile gaming apps that appeared to be from consumers on iTunes is one of the clearer violations of Section 5 in this group of cases. Google was charged with using information collected from Gmail users to create Google Buzz without the users’ consent. Finally, Twitter’s lapses in data security led to an FTC order prohibiting misrepresentations about how much privacy Twitter provides for users and requires the company to maintain reasonable security with independent audits of their security practices.