Tech Report: Apple Cracks Down On App Developers Over Privacy Issues
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Apple is cracking down on some social networking app developers over collecting user's information without letting them know, which violates the company's guidelines.
KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid said that this is a violation of basic trust for consumers.
"The one that started this firestorm is Path, a personal diary app. But Foursquare, Twitter and others are also guilty. Apparently it's fairly prominent," said Magid. "And what all of these apps have in common is a "Find Your Friend" feature. That may be a benign idea, but the problem is they're uploading your address book without your permission."
KCBS Technology Analyst Larry Magid:
Magid said that this is a clear violation of Apple's terms of service and the company has vowed to try to crack down on this happening.
"I think what's going to happen as a result of this is much clearer disclosures and giving the users much more choice," he said. "Do you want me to do this, do you want the app to do this or do you not want the app to do this?"
Congress is already looking into the matter so it is becoming a federal case. Magid said that if the industry doesn't regulate itself, government will most likely do it for them.
You can hear Larry Magid's Tech Report Monday through Friday at 3:50pm on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.
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