Groups File Report with the White House “Big Data” Review Proceeding

EPIC and CDD filed this at the FTC today.  Despite the protestations of Whatsapp's founders, they cannot guarantee that Facebook won't eventually incorporate the rich vein of mobile, location and other data that flows from its services.  If the Whatsapp founders are truly to commited to its user privacy, we ask them to enter into a voluntary 20 year consent decree with the FTC, placing on the record that they will maintain privacy practices without Facebook interference. 

Here's a summary from our attorney Eric Null at Institute for Public Representation, Georgetown University Law Center:

We urge you to review the attached FTC complaint that was filed today by EPIC and CDD.  The millions of WhatsApp users who signed up for the service were promised--repeatedly as you will read in the complaint--that the company didn't want to gather and commercialize their data.   They posed as the "unFacebook," deriding the commercial surveillance apparatus that lies at the core of contemporary online practices.  Yet at the same time they made their public privacy promises, they were being

Feb. 13, 2014

Facebook Settlement Endangers Kids and Breaks Law in Seven States, Public Interest Groups, Parents Tell 9th Circuit

Children’s Privacy Organization Denounces Settlement, Refuses Money

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumer, children’s safety, digital privacy groups and parents are urging a federal appeals court to toss out a settlement agreement that permits Facebook to use kids’ pictures in ads without the consent of their parents – which is illegal in seven states.

excerpt via Exchangewire:    Privacy awareness body Truste has today (28 January) released its annual Consumer Confidence Index, revealing 60% of participants in the survey were more concerned about their online privacy compared to 12 months ago, with 89% actively “avoiding” companies they don’t believe protect their privacy adequately....However, it seems that contagion has spread to the private sector too, as there are three times as many survey participants concerned about companies

 “The Federal Trade Commission’s investigation of Apple sheds light on a growing practice that poses risks to children and families,” commented Jeff Chester, Executive Director of the Center for Digital Democracy.  “Children are spending increasing amounts of time with mobile apps, generating potentially huge profits for the rapidly expanding gaming and app industries.  In-app purchasing is becoming the dominant business model in many online games and other children’s entertainment content on mobile phones, tablets and gaming devices.  Yet the techniques used to trigger these purchases are,

A report written by Ed Mierzwinski of USPIRG and Jeff Chester of CDD.

Washington, DC: Over 20 public health, media, youth, and consumer advocacy groups sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) today objecting to Facebook’s recent proposed changes to its privacy policy. The groups raised concerns about the potential negative impact of these changes on teens.