California: Recommendations for the Mobile App Industry

In January 2013, the Califonia Attorney General’s Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit has published "Privacy on the Go: Recommendations for the Mobile Ecosystem" for the mobile app industry. The aim of these recommendations is to help educate this industry and to promote privacy best practices by encouraging app developers and other players in the mobile sphere to consider privacy at the outset of the design process.

The recommendations offer in many places greater protection than afforded by existing US law, and recognize that the legally required general privacy policy is not always the most effective way to get consumers’ attention, Therefore, "Privacy on the Go" recommends a “surprise minimization” approach. This approach means supplementing the general privacy policy with enhanced measures to alert users and give them control over data practices that are not related to an app’s basic functionality or that involve sensitive information. "Privacy on the Go" includes recommendations for:

• for app developers,
• for app plattform providers,
• for mobile ad networks,
• for operating system developers and
• for mobile carriers.

Privacy on the Go: Recommendations for the Mobile Ecosystem by Kamala D. Harris, Attorney General (California Department of Justice)