The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of USA has fined a two year old Mobile Apps manufacturing company “Path” a sum of US$ 800,000 for violating the privacy of US Citizens. In particular the Social Networking Apps manufacturer was charged with violating the privacy of children since it collected personal information on underage users including any person in the user’s address book.
The incident is a serious notice to all mobile apps manufacturers to offer a strict “opt out” option by default and a proper check on the identification of children.
Identifying whether a person is an adult or a minor is a huge challenge and companies need expert advise from appropriate Privacy Consultants to steer clear of the risks indicated by the above incident.
Naavi
