A Reminder of What You Should Know Before You or Your Children Download Apps

Our phones contain our entire lives on them these days--our contacts, calendars, emails and plenty of sensitive data. Keeping your information private is more important than ever and loss or theft of your phone aren't the only ways your personal information can fall into the wrong hands. With so many innovative apps out there, at times we all may feel like kids in a candy store when perusing online. But mobile apps that you (or your children) download onto your phone may be accessing more than you may bargain for.

Apps may be able to access your location, emails contact lists, and other sensitive information stored on your device--and you may be giving them permission to do so when you download them. App companies then may in turn sell or share your information without your knowledge or permission.

We urge everyone to look into apps before you choose to download them and invite them into your life. Take a moment to read up on an app's information in the app store, check to see if it has a privacy policy (that discloses how they'll use your data) and see if companies include contact information so you are able to reach them if an issue should arise.

Pass on an app if it requires permission to access an intrusive or unnecessary amount of data. Consider what data an app reasonably needs to access in order to function. If an app is requesting access to your location, emails or to listen in through your microphone when it has nothing to do with the app's functionality, be wary.

Check out these tips from the Better Business Bureau about how to protect your privacy when using apps.

CARU Speaks at Community Board in Manhattan

CARU staff attorney Andra Dallas gave a presentation to Community Board 1, serving lower Manhattan on Monday, December 7 th . Andra spoke to the Board’s Youth Committee about the importance of teaching children about understanding advertising and safe online practices. District Manager Noah Pfefferblit remarked, “thank you for your informative presentation to our Youth Committee members,” and offered the Board’s assistance if they “can be helpful to the important efforts at the Children's Advertising Review Unit.” Are you interested in having a CARU staff member visit your community board? Contact adallas@caru.bbb.org.

i-Dressup Shuts Down in Wake of Privacy Breach and COPPA Violation

I-Dressup, a fashion-themed social website for teens, has completely shut down as part of a settlement with the New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs, following a massive privacy breach and violations of the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and New Jersey state law. In September 2016, a hacker sent 2.2 million i-Dressup account credentials to technology blog Arstechnica as well as to haveibeenpwned.com, a searchable online database of data breaches. Responding to the news, New Jersey investigators discovered that 2,519 of the compromised accounts belonged to New Jersey children below age 13. I-Dressup, allegedly aware that it had child users, had violated COPPA by failing to obtain verifiable parental consent prior to collecting and processing personal information from the children, including first and last names and email addresses. In a consent decree with the New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Gerwal, parent company...

Advocates believe Kid Influencers Deserve Same Protections as Other Child Stars

Although there are child labor laws in California that are designed to protect child stars from exploitation (The Coogan Act), the same protections don't always apply to child YouTube and Instagram stars, or kid influencers. Kid Influencers accounts are usually run by their parents since platforms like YouTube and Instagram have age limits of 13 years old. One consequence of not owning their accounts is that all profits received go directly to the guardians and, unlike traditional child actors in California, these guardians are not required to set aside some of the profits for the children. Advocates like Paul Petersen, believe the legal protections like those in California should apply to children outside of the state. Petersen has said that because YouTube is in San Bruno, California and they are paying to broadcast children, California law must apply to those child stars. Many guardians of kid influencers feel these regulations are unnecessary and that the guardians are doi...

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