Related Update, 4/23/13
AdWeek is reporting that several consumer groups are asking the FTC to continue with the scheduled July 2013 date.
Related update, 4/19/13
The FTC’s new chair, Edith Ramirez, spoke to the Digital Advertising Alliance on Wednesday, April 17, and implied that the DAA recommendations for Do Not Track, according to AdWeek. While a separate issue from the COPPA situation detailed in our original post, it is possible, and probably likely in our view, that the request for pushback on the implementation date doesn’t stand to get a positive response from the FTC. App developers who deal with childrens’ programming or games that could have children playing are for sure on the back foot and should be strategizing solutions post-haste.
Original Posting, 4/15/13
Prior to issuing the new ‘dotcomdisclosures’ that we discussed in two blog articles last month (Summary, In-Depth), the FTC also took steps last December to address the growing concern over childrens’ privacy online and via the use of apps on other devices. Some of the highlights of the new regulations include:
- Third parties being regulated as first parties when it comes to collecting personal data.
- Streamlined methods for obtaining parental consent.
- No geolocation or other personalized data collection.
- The exemption of Apple and Google’s app stores from liability.
The FTC has not released a new set of guidelines specific to how and under what criteria enforcement will take place; leaving many smaller developers in the dark as to exactly how to go about becoming compliant with the new rules and how their continued marketing of existing apps using current methods might land them into hot water with the agency.
The ADA (App Developers Alliance) has submitted a letter today, to the Chairwoman, Edith Ramirez, requesting an extension for enforcement of the new regulations and requesting a guidance document be published so that smaller app developers and those without extensive legal or financial resources might have time to assure their compliance with the new regs, especially in light of how much re-working, re-coding and possible re-alignment with advertising platforms may be needed to become compliant.
It remains to be seen how the FTC will react to the letter; currently the new regulations are scheduled to go into effect on July 1, 2013.
Edit: According to AdWeek’s website, the IAB also asked the FTC to push back the enforcement date on the ruling —