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Two Democrat senators are asking federal regulators to verify that children's apps do not collect personal data properly and if app stores mislead parents by labeling them as child-friendly.
Senators Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut on Wednesday sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, informing him that thousands of applications could "unduly follow children and children." collect their personal information.
Senators asked the agency to consider whether the apps, as well as the advertising agencies they work with, were violating a federal law designed to protect children's privacy online. The law requires sites and apps aimed at children under the age of 13 to get verifiable permission from a parent before collecting any personal information about a child, such as an e-mail address, a specific location , a telephone number or persistent digital identification codes used for behavioral advertising.
Senators also asked the agency to review how app stores such as Google Play check apps that they consider child-friendly and make sure that those- They comply with the law on the protection of privacy.
"It is clear that many companies are breaking this law," said Mr. Markey during a phone interview, "and that we need to highlight it and ensure that this type of activity is halted Cold."
The Times also found programs on Google Play Store and Apple App Store labeled appropriate for children but, once downloaded, personal data sent without verifiable parental permission. The applications of the Apple platform have sent less data.
These results were consistent with academic research published this year. The researchers analyzed nearly 6,000 free Android apps for children and found that more than half shared data in a way that violated the law.
Last month, the Attorney General of New Mexico sued the manufacturer of Fun Kid Racing, as well as online advertising companies run by Google, Twitter and three other companies. The lawsuit accused companies of violating the law on the protection of children's privacy. He also argued that Google misled parents by allowing apps to stay in the kids' section of his store and did not act quickly when researchers contacted the company, fearing that thousands of apps would do not follow children properly.
Aaron Stein, a spokesman for Google, said his family program "requires developers" to comply with federal law on the protection of children's privacy and that the company "would act" if an application broke his rules.
An Apple spokesperson, Tom Neumayr, said developers had to follow strict guidelines regarding tracking in children's apps.
In their letter, MM. Markey and Blumenthal asked the Federal Trade Commission to determine the extent to which app developers and their advertising partners are complying with the law on the protection of children's privacy. They called on regulators to examine the types of personal data that apps collect from kids and share with advertising agencies, as well as how app developers make sure their products comply. to the law.
Senators also asked the agency to look closely at how advertising agencies with policies prohibiting children's apps from using their services make sure that app developers follow the rules.
This week, the Times has retried one of the apps from the previous article, Masha and the Bear, and discovered that the Android version was still sending out accurate and localized location information. other data to tracking companies. The iOS version still sent a tracking ID number to an ad agency, although it does not send location data.
Google and Apple have not answered specific questions about this app. In an email, Indigo Kids, the Cypriot manufacturer of Masha application, said that he was working on "solving this problem in order to avoid committing this violation in the future" .
Aaron Krolik contributed to the research.
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