The Government Steps in on App Privacy

Following last week's iPhone app data collection scandals, California will now mandate that all mobile applications have privacy policies.

Following last week's iPhone app data collection scandals, California has reached an agreement with app developers, mandating that all mobile applications have privacy policies. "This agreement strengthens the privacy protections of California consumers and of millions of people around the globe who use mobile apps," Attorney General Kamala D. Harris said in a statement. "By ensuring that mobile apps have privacy policies, we create more transparency and give mobile users more informed control over who accesses their personal information and how it is used." This doesn't exactly meet the Steve Jobs ideal, which suggests bombarding phone users with permissions and notifications; we bet the privacy policies will look more like those user agreements nobody reads than invasive pop-ups every time a user clicks on something. But, those developers who don't follow the rules will get in trouble with the law. So, it's a step.