APPS Act, ECPA Reforms Could Affect Mobile App Industry, Experts Say
The Application Privacy, Protection, and Security (APPS) Act would address “key transparency issues surrounding mobile app use,” said Hogan Lovells attorney Mark Brennan, who argues broadband deployment and mobile privacy issues before the FCC, FTC and other federal agencies. A draft version of the bill, which Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., began circulating in January, would introduce new data privacy protections for app users, including requiring app developers to get users’ permission before obtaining personal data, Brennan said Tuesday during an FCBA event.
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The bill would require developers to specify how users’ data would be used and hold the developer responsible for third-party uses. The bill would also allow users to withdraw their permission later, and would require a developer to destroy the user’s data whenever possible. The FTC and state attorneys general would have jurisdiction to enforce the law, but the bill would bar a state attorney general from taking action on a case if the FTC has already issued a civil action (http://1.usa.gov/11eBkmx). Johnson’s office did not have an immediate response.
Many of the APPS Act’s proposed requirements will need to allow additional flexibility, Brennan said. “Any detailed requirements could have the side effect of hindering pro-consumer innovation in this fast-moving sector,” he said. The final bill shouldn’t “lock in place” the ways developers communicate their data use practices to consumers, since “that could prevent more consumer-friendly transparency models from evolving,” Brennan said. Other parties have been working to address some of the issues the APPS Act would fix, including the NTIA’s multistakeholder process on app transparency, CTIA, the Future of Privacy Forum and Center for Democracy and Technology, Brennan said.
The Application Developers Alliance (ADA) was one of the places Johnson’s office sought input on the APPS Act, said Milan Mehta, ADA’s policy manager. ADA believes some portions of the bill “may be a bit burdensome to developers,” he said. “But at the same time, we're open to having a conversation and will continue to have that conversation.” The bill as written is not flexible enough on possible changes in technology, so any technology evolution in the mobile space would result in a “serious impact on developers,” Mehta said.
Proposed reforms to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) also would affect the app industry, particularly reforms that address mobile privacy issues, said Alan Butler, the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s appellate advocacy counsel.
Federal agencies are also examining policies that could affect the app industry, including NTIA’s proposed “nutritional label” approach to informing consumers about their data usage habits, said Jackie McCarthy, CTIA director-wireless Internet development. While the industry continues to debate whether that proposal is too simplistic, it does attempt to address the problem of effectively informing users within the confines of a mobile device’s limited screen real estate, she said.