California Cracks Down on Privacy

California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has issued a formal statement to mobile app developers and companies notifying them of non-compliance with California law. 

The companies have 30 days to “conspicuously post” a privacy policy in their app, informing users exactly what kind of personal, private information about them is being collected and how the companies intend to use it. The Attorney General’s office plans on sending up to 100 of these letters out to non-compliant app companies, beginning with those whose apps are the most popular with consumers.

“Protecting the privacy of online consumers is a serious law enforcement matter,” said Attorney General Harris. “We have worked hard to ensure that app developers are aware of their legal obligations to respect the privacy of Californians, but it is critical that we take all necessary steps to enforce California’s privacy laws.”

Attorney General Harris created the California Online Privacy Protection Act earlier this year, and forged an agreement with Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft and Research in Motion to improve privacy protection for app users. The non-compliance letters are the first step in taking legal action to enforce the Privacy Act.