Infographic by Veracode Application Security

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Take the new Developer Economics 10-minute survey and win prizes! Deadline to enter is November 5, 2012. http://www.visionmobile.com/DE13GoMobileMichigan.  Take 10 minutes to fill out the survey and enter a draw for great prizes including:  an iPhone 5, a Samsung Galaxy SIII, a Galaxy Tab 2, 2 x Nokia Lumia 920, Blackberry Dev Alpha and a 4G LTE Blackberry PlayBook.

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“Top of mind for every business is increasing effectiveness of employees and especially increasing impact while in front of customers,” notes Coil Group co-founder Jim Brown. “Our sessions on mobile security and mobile application strategy are positioned to help organizations jumpstart their mobile initiatives to better compete and leverage smartphones and tablets in the workplace.”

IT leaders from mid to large firms are encouraged to attend the sessions. To register for Coil Group’s sessions please visit http://www.thecoilgroup.com/events/ or call Coil Group at 248-270-2645

About Coil Group: Coil Group is a professional services firm specializing in the design, build, adoption and management of enterprise-class tablet, smartphone and mobile web solutions. Coil transforms organizations looking to innovate and drive stakeholder value through the adoption of mobile and post PC solutions and work styles. Follow us online at www.thecoilgroup.com or on Twitter @CoilGroup.

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The Association for Competitive Technology (ACT) today launched the App Privacy Icons – the newest feature of its App Trust Project.  These icons are part of a broad campaign to provide developers with resources to demonstrate easy-to-understand transparency about the privacy settings and features of their apps.

In the increasingly competitive world of mobile apps, savvy consumers are making purchasing decisions that include whether and how an app collects or shares information about them.  This industry-led measure – an eight-month collaborative effort by developer groups, designers, parents, and policymakers – provides consumers the information they need to make informed purchasing decisions.  The icons provide simple yet informative transparency into the data collection and sharing practices of mobile apps, so that customers can quickly assess the apps they want to buy.

http://AppTrustProject.com

In addition to continuing the development of the privacy icons, ACT will be developing open-source code for developers to use in their apps and will be leading a campaign to promote these tools through social media, developer events, and advertising.

“Developers need a simple way to communicate to customers about data collection and sharing practices,” said ACT Executive Director Morgan Reed. “The App Privacy Icons help convey that information in an easy-to-read display customized for the small screens of mobile devices. Ultimately, this is about communicating trust and value to customers in a manner that embraces the massive shift underway to smartphones and tablets.”

Related articles

• Mobile privacy concerns spawn the App Trust Project (fiercedeveloper.com)
• Mobile privacy fears spawn App Trust Project (fiercemobilecontent.com)
• Lawmaker pushes mobile privacy legislation (techworld.com.au)
• Mobile privacy concerns spawn the App Trust Project (fiercewireless.com)
• Survey: How Mobile Device Users Protect Their Privacy With Mobile Apps (ivebeenmugged.typepad.com)
• Feds probe mobile app privacy safeguards (computerworld.co.nz)

When:  Tuesday, November 13, 2012; 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Where:  Schoolcraft College, VisTaTech Center; 18600 Haggerty Road, Livonia, MI  48152
Fee:  $25
Corporate Sponsor:  Huntington Bank

Buyers Invited to Attend:

• Department of Veterans Affairs
• GSA
• MDOT
• Michigan Department of Technology Management and Budget
• NASA Glenn Research Center
• NAVAIR
• Oakland County
• Selfridge Air National Guard Base
• TACOM
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Wayne County Airport

Other Resources Available at the Event:

• SBA
• PTAC
• MI-SBTDC
• SCORE
• VetBizCentral
• MEDC
• CEED
• Plante Moran

To Register:

Go to https://webadvisor.schoolcraft.edu
Click on Continuing Education (non-credit)
Click on “Register and Pay for Continuing Education Classes”
Insert appropriate CES (CES 1568) or Section Number (940737)

Credit card payment is required when registering on the Web. Call 734-462-4426 with any registration questions.

Seal of the United States Federal Trade Commission. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Carl Franzen, TPM IdeaLab, September 5, 2012

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission is concerned that amid the booming industry of mobile device applications, some app makers could be leaving consumers confused or in the dark when it comes to app privacy options, or worse, deliberately misleading customers.

So on Wednesday, the FTC released a new six-page set of guidelines for apps developers called “Marketing Your Mobile App,” which the agency says is designed to help them “comply with truth-in-advertising standards and basic privacy principles.”

In the document, the FTC threatens app makers with fines for violating existing privacy and truth-in-advertising laws: “Laws that apply to established businesses apply to you, too, and violations can be costly,” it reads.

The FTC goes on to note: “Of course, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Every app is different. Still, there are some general guidelines that all app developers should consider.”

The FTC proceeds to list nine specific provisions for what it wants app makers to begin doing, if they aren’t already. The provisions are broken up into “Privacy” and “Truthful Advertising” categories. They read as follows:

Truthful Advertising

1. Tell the truth about what your app can do.

2. Disclose key information clearly and conspicuously.

Privacy

3. Build privacy considerations in from the start.

4. Be transparent about your data practices.

5. Offer choices that are easy to find and easy to use.

6. Honor your privacy promises.

7. Protect kids’ privacy.

8. Collect sensitive information only with consent.

9. Keep user data secure.

The last two items are timely, given that on Monday, someone claiming to be affiliated with the hacker collective Anonymous published what appear to be authentic identifying numbers of one million Apple mobile devices, which the self-described hackers said came from a hacked FBI laptop.

Apple, the FBI and an app maker all denied that the numbers were leaked by their hands, though the FBI’s denial specifically said “we have no evidence” to believe that the agency was involved.

The FTC’s new guide book is timely for another reason: The Pew Research Center’s Pew Internet Project on Wednesday published the findings of a new study it undertook this past Spring of a group of 2,254 adults cell phone users it said represented 38 percent of the adult population.

Of the sample group, Pew said that “54 percent of app users have decided to not install a cell phone app when they discovered how much personal information they would need to share in order to use it,” and another 30 percent uninstalled apps they had downloaded before after becoming uneasy about the personal information said apps were collecting and sharing about the phone owners.

Clearly, American phone users are concerned about their privacy when using apps, as is the FTC. The question is: Will app makers get the message? And even if they do, what will they do about it?

CTIA, a lobbying organization that represents the nation’s large wireless carriers and other communications infrastructure companies, gave the following statement to TPM regarding the FTC’s new guidelines:

“CTIA supports the FTC’s ‘Marketing Your Mobile App’ Guidelines. These Guidelines are based on the FTC’s well-established Fair Information Practices, which have also been covered for several years in CTIA’s Wireless Consumer Code and Location Based Service Guidelines. Whether it’s around consumers’ privacy, including kids and COPPA to disclosing information clearly and conspicuously, CTIA has been and will continue to be strong advocates and supporters of these practices.”

A CTIA spokesperson also told TPM that CTIA and some of its members had been in touch with the FTC about mobile industry practices in general.

“The FTC has included CTIA and its members in its workshops and other activities involving mobile applications, and CTIA has shared the wireless industry’s consumer best practices with the FTC,” CTIA’s spokesperson said.

It’s also worth noting the FTC, which recently fined Google $22.5 million over breaching a privacy agreement in the largest ever single fine of its kind from the agency, has also recently been accused of lacking the tools and will to effectively penalize companies that infringe user privacy. For example, in the case of Google, the company paid the fine but did not admit to any violation. Still, the FTC adamantly denies that it is toothless.

Late update: An FTC spokesperson told TPM that the guidelines were drafted by the agency’s bureau of consumer protection and although the CTIA has been in contact with the agency generally, they did not have direct input onto these specific guidelines. The story has been updated to clarify this.

The FTC’s spokesperson also pointed out that the agency could levy a $16,000 fine for every violation of COPPA, or the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act committed by any company or app-maker (the FTC also recently opened its proposed revisions for COPPA up to public comment), and larger fines for misbegotten gains from sales of deceptive apps.

“When we consider any app that’s part of an ecosystem, we look at all the players,” the spokesperson told TPM. “Just because you’re small or your entity is new doesn’t mean you’re not part of the same system and subject to the same legal standards as everyone else.”

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Carl Franzen is TPM Idea Lab’s tech reporter. He used to work for The Daily, AOL and The Atlantic Wire. He’s never met a button that didn’t need to be pressed. He can be reached at carl@talkingpointsmemo.com.

Related articles

• FTC Publishes Guide to Help Mobile App Developers Observe Truth-in-Advertising, Privacy Principles (bespacific.com)
• The Federal Trade Commission has published a guide to help mobile application developers observe truth-in-advertising and basic privacy principles when marketing new mobile apps. (ftc.gov)

Interested in learning how your firm can be employing mobile technologies to increase productivity and profitability for your firm? Then you need to be attending the upcoming ‘Mobile Moves Michigan’ statewide mobile / wireless technology conference on July 31st at Motor City Casino in Detroit!

See exhibits from companies in Michigan who are providing mobile technology products and services, as well as firms in areas such as healthcare, retail, B2B, manufacturing, automotive and more who are utilizing mobile technologies to do their jobs better and service their customers more effectively. Also see national / international mobile industry firms doing business in Michigan.

You may also be eligible to participate in our invite-only Symposium to learn from local, national and international leaders in mobile / wireless technology about the many ways these technologies are impacting Michigan businesses and our state’s economy in a very positive way!

Get more information at http://MobileMovesMichigan.com or text us at 57780 with the keyword MMMInvite to have us email attendance information to you directly or keyword MMMExhibit if your firm is intersted in being a part of our Mobile / Wireless Technology Exhibition. Symposium seats are extremely limited and available by invitation only, and exhibit spots are also limited – don’t miss your opportunity to showcase how your firm is putting mobile / wireless technologies to use!

Mobile / wireless technology is one of Michigan’s fastest growing industries and is going to impact EVERY OTHER BUSINESS VERTICAL if it has not already done so.  Therefore, the time is right to get all the info you need to take full advantage, and stay ahead of your competitors.  See you at ‘Mobile Moves Michigan’!

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• Mobile Technology Association Of Michigan Launches Education Effort (detroit.cbslocal.com)