FTC To Put Apps Under The COPPA Microscope

If you hear someone mention "Angry Birds," do you think -- friend who just got a new iPhone 4s, the friend's tech-saavy 10 year old daughter who sneaks off with the new iPhone 4s or the neighbor's cat?

The answer to that question for the exploding world of mobile apps is becoming increasingly important. Last fall the FTC brought its first enforcement action against a mobile app for violating COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.) Broken Thumbs Apps had several apps listed under the "Games-Kids" category in an app store and was accused of collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 without parental notification and consent. COPPA has been an active enforcement area for the agency and just in case there was any doubt that the FTC was serious about applying COPPA to mobile apps, the staff released a report late last week largely critical of the data collection practices of app stores and developers when it comes to children.