Google & Apple Make the Case for Mobile Privacy Regulation [and why Al Franken shouldn't be fooled]

It's always telling what companies testifying before Congress don't say, in addition to how they carefully describe the issues. This week's mobile privacy hearing chaired by Sen. Al Franken was characterized by a lack of candor by both Apple and Google.  It's astonishing that Google actually could submit testimony and not once even mention its extensive mobile location targeting system for its Admob and Doubleclick divisions.  After all, shouldn't Google have explained what it means when its Admob service tells marketers it offers "sophisticated targeting capabilities and low-cost customer acquisition with measurable return on investment."  Or that it also says marketers can "identify the location of your visitors and the mobile operators and devices used to access your website...[monitor] length and depth of visit...See which pages your visitors land on when they arrive at your site." Google should have also discussed its Doubleclick service for mobile targeting.  For example, Google explains to large marketers that "DoubleClick Mobile is an ad delivery system for mobile websites that delivers dynamic, interactive ads to mobile web pages based on specific criteria as determined by you...DoubleClick Mobile integrates with third-party mobile ad networks including Google’s AdSense for mobile content, Millennial Media’s premium MBrand network and Decktrade performance network, AdMob and many others. This...helps you fully monetize your mobile web content."   They could have even told Franken what they say about location targeting on their Mobile Ad Blog.

Apple, to its credit, at least mentioned its iAds mobile ad network.  But it hid what it does in its testimony by claiming that it's obtuse and largely invisible privacy and user policies explain what data is collected and how it's used.  Apple should have testified what it tells advertisers.  That "iAd rich media ads combine the emotion of television with the interactivity of the web to deliver a unique, compelling experience like no other on a mobile device. Users can dive into immersive ads without ever leaving your app.... You get in-depth information throughout the course of your campaign, including average time spent, pages viewed and unique visitor metrics. We continually optimize your iAd targeting so that your ad performs for your goals throughout your campaign. In addition, a complete wrap-up report provides key insights into user engagement, performance and best practices based on overall network results. By understanding how users are engaging with your ad, you can learn new things about your audience to hone your marketing strategy."

That would have been a more honest contribution to the growing mobile and location surveillance debate