Nuevamente un miembro del senado está pidiendo las cabeza de Apple y Google para una investigación de parte de la Comisión Federal de Comercio de Estados Unidos.
El senador demócrata de Nueva York, Charles Schumer urge nuevamente a la FTC para que investigue a Apple y Google por permitir y ellos tambien robar información de sus usuarios incluyendo fotos y contactos sin autorización previa.
Carta de Schumer:
Dear Chairman Leibowitz,
I write today to ask the Federal Trade Commission to investigate a disturbing and potentially unfair practice in the smartphone application market. We have seen a number of reports recently about apps that are leaking user data without user knowledge. Specifically, there have been reports about apps which allow a user’s photos, videos, location data, and address books not only to be accessed by the app (and its developers) but also copied in their entirety and used for marketing or other purposes. These uses go well beyond what a reasonable user understands himself to be consenting to when he allows an app to access data on the phone for purposes of the app’s functionality.
It is my understanding that many of these uses violate the terms of service of the Apple and Android platforms through which the apps are marketed and sold. However, it is not clear whether or how those terms of service are being enforced and monitored. In fact, the abuses of apps have only come to light as a result of the work of intrepid independent researchers and technologists. As a result, it is users and their privacy who suffer.
Under your leadership, the FTC has played a critical role in monitoring the evolving privacy issues in the smartphone and online market place, for example with your recent report on apps and children’s privacy. I am confident that you will continue that great work by bringing your resources and expertise to bear in addressing this alarming new trend. Specifically, I hope you will consider launching a comprehensive investigation to explicitly determine whether copying or distributing personal information from smart phones, without a user’s consent, constitutes an unfair or deceptive trade practice. In addition, I believe smartphone makers should be required to put in place safety measures to ensure third party applications are not able to violate a user’s personal privacy by stealing photographs or data that the user did not consciously decide to make public.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
Como recordarán, varias tecnológicas acordaron en conjunto que serán más pro activas y exigirán a los desarrolladores a publicar sus políticas de seguridad y privacidad en la página de sus aplicaciones y esto parece que es la secuela de esto que empezó cuando las quejas de los usuarios del servicio Path, se volvieron al punto que era suficiente presión para ahora se volviera opcional el permitir copiar agendas de Android o iOS.
