Sen. Chuck Schumer asked the FTC to investigate mobile apps...
Sen. Chuck Schumer asked the FTC to investigate mobile apps that may steal private photos and address books. The New York Democrat cited news reports that Apple and Google Android apps are able to access and share personal information from…
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devices without notifying the user. In a letter (http://xrl.us/bmw2rp) Monday to the FTC, Schumer asked the agency to check whether the apps’ functions violate the agency’s standard of unfair or deceptive practices. The functions may violate Apple and Android terms of service, but it’s “not clear whether or how those terms of service are being enforced and monitored,” Schumer said. “Smartphone developers have an obligation to protect the private content of their users and not allow them to be veritable treasure troves of private, personal information that can then be uploaded and distributed without the consumer’s consent,” the senator said in a statement. “It sends shivers up the spine to think that one’s personal photos, address book, and who-knows-what-else can be obtained and even posted online -- without consent."