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ARTICLE · 16 SEPTEMBER 2014

85% Of Mobile Apps Marked Down On Transparency: 'Must Try Harder' Say Global Privacy Regulators

Reed Smith (Worldwide)
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In May this year, members of the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) conducted a privacy sweep of 1,200+ mobile apps.

GlobalPrivacy
Cynthia O'Donoghue
Cynthia O'Donoghue
Kate Brimsted
Kate Brimsted
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In May this year, members of the Global Privacy Enforcement Network (GPEN) conducted a privacy sweep of 1,200+ mobile apps. The findings are now available (here).

GPEN is an informal network of 27 Data Protection Authorities ("DPAs") established in 2007. Its members include the UK's ICO, Australia's OAIC, and Canada's OPC.

DPAs from 26 jurisdictions carried out this year's sweep (an increase of seven jurisdictions compared with the last sweep which we reported on in May 2014). The recent sweep focused on (1) the types of permissions an app was seeking; (2) whether those permissions exceeded what would be expected based on an app of its type; and (3) the level of explanation an app provided as to why the personal information was needed and how it proposed to use it.

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