App Law: Regulators Crack Down

Canadian app developers must take care to avoid sanction from regulators both in Canada and in other countries - particularly in the U.S. - when launching apps.

California's Attorney General recently began notifying  dozens of app developers that they run afoul of the California Online Privacy Protection Act by failing to post their privacy policies. Developers were given 30 days to comply or face fines of up to $2,500 for each download of a non-compliant app. In Canada, federal and provincial privacy laws also mandate the disclosure of privacy policies and the use of a privacy officer, though the legislation is broadly applicable to the private sector and is not targetted specifically at mobile app developers.