The U.S. Federal Trade Commission today updated the privacy rules related to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act which was originally passed in 1998. The new rules reflect new types of platforms that children are using, like social media and mobile apps.
However, though apps themselves need to be sure to follow guidelines, app 'platforms' like Apple's App Store and Google Play, are explicitly exempted in the law. App stores are not required to verify that the apps they sell comply with the law; instead, it's up to individual developers to verify compliance.
Apple and Google Inc. protested the idea that they might be responsible for the collection of kids' data by apps they offer through their app stores. Apple made that point in five meetings with FTC officials in the fall. The FTC responded by explicitly exempting the Apple App Store and Google Play, the app store for mobile devices running Google's Android software, from having to make sure that the apps they provided complied with Coppa.
The FTC also exempted plug-ins like Facebook's "Like" button and Twitter's "Tweet" button that are used on thousands of websites around the world. Those companies only need to comply with Coppa if the company "knows or has reason to know" that the plug-in is being used on a website or app aimed at children.
Earlier this month, the FTC revealed that it was investigating kids apps over privacy concerns, with SpongeBob Diner Dashnamed as one app that was singled out for investigation.
Wednesday February 12, 2025 6:49 am PST by Joe Rossignol
As the wait continues for Apple's long-rumored, fourth-generation iPhone SE, French electronics retailer Boulanger has prematurely published a product listing for a "new" model of the iPhone SE. The placeholder page says the device is "coming soon," but it offers no further information, and the price shown is obviously not real.
The listing was spotted by a reader of the French technology...
Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week.
Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Thursday February 13, 2025 8:07 am PST by Joe Rossignol
In a social media post today, Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an upcoming "launch" of some kind scheduled for Wednesday, February 19.
"Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," he said, with an #AppleLaunch hashtag.
The post includes a short video with an animated Apple logo inside a circle.
Cook did not provide an exact time for the launch, or share any other specific details, so...
Monday February 10, 2025 10:56 am PST by Juli Clover
There continue to be signs of a new MacBook Air with an M4 chip, indicating that we could see the machine launch in the not too distant future. A private account on X today shared the identifiers that the MacBook Air will use, and those identifiers correspond to the M4 chip.
According to the source, both the 13-inch MacBook Air and the 15-inch MacBook Air will be equipped with Apple's...
Monday February 10, 2025 3:05 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Oppo has confirmed a February 20 global launch for its Find N5, which the company claims is the world's thinnest device in the foldable phone category. The phone is expected to be re-branded as the OnePlus Open 2 in the US.
The Chinese vendor has been teasing the device in the last few weeks, touting its waterproofing and nearly invisible display crease, and highlighting its thinness by compa...
Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech.
iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech
In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
Monday February 10, 2025 10:04 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released watchOS 11.3.1, a minor update to the operating system that runs on the Apple Watch. watchOS 11.3.1 is compatible with the Apple Watch Series 6 and later, all Apple Watch Ultra models, and the Apple Watch SE 2.
watchOS 11.3.1 can be downloaded by opening up the Apple Watch app and going to General > Software Update. To install the new software, the Apple Watch needs to...
Wednesday February 12, 2025 11:35 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today added MacBook Pro and Mac mini models with M4 series chips to its certified refurbished store in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Ireland for the first time since the computers were introduced in October 2024.
Some refurbished MacBook Pro models with M4 chips are also available in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, and select other European countries.
...
Monday February 10, 2025 10:11 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released macOS Sequoia 15.3.1, a minor update to the macOS Sequoia operating system that came out last September. macOS 15.3.1 comes a few weeks after the launch of macOS Sequoia 15.3.
Mac users can download the macOS Sequoia update through the Software Update section of System Settings. Apple has also released macOS 13.7.4 and macOS 14.7.4 for those who are...
Oh, this should be fun. 1000s of childless 18-25 year-olds debating whether parents should be in charge of what their children do. Too bad I don't eat popcorn, anymore.
Apple and Google are abdicating their responsibility to insure that even a modicum of our activities with their devices and apps, especially those related to minor children, are afforded any privacy protection (and they are making money hand over fist with this info-sometimes I feel like an information battery in The Matrix the way they siphon intelligence from my activity). Really shameful that Apple would argue it is not responsible for offending apps--uh, last time I checked Apple's app approval process is supposed to weed out any end runs around the rules, so to claim ignorance is pretty lame.
Get over yourself. It's YOUR job as a parent to take care of your kid. It's not Apple's job to verify the intentions of the people who create things that YOU allow into your children's hands. Are you going to complain because grocery stores still stock food that's bad for them? As for the whole "save the children" thing, learn a few things: turn the channel, don't buy them everything they want, and pay some attention to what is going on in their lives.
Apple and Google are abdicating their responsibility to insure that even a modicum of our activities with their devices and apps, especially those related to minor children, are afforded any privacy protection (and they are making money hand over fist with this info-sometimes I feel like an information battery in The Matrix the way they siphon intelligence from my activity). Really shameful that Apple would argue it is not responsible for offending apps--uh, last time I checked Apple's app approval process is supposed to weed out any end runs around the rules, so to claim ignorance is pretty lame.
What is shameful is people like you blaming Apple/Google instead of PARENTS who are responsible for their children's actions.
Than again when should I expect from the current state of the national filled with "everyone is responsible but me" citizens.
It's a parent's job, if they are concerned about such things, to not use apps as a substitute for family time. Do you go to a chemist with a box of cereal to verify the sugar content? No. Do you exercise reasonable caution, and assume that the company producing the cereal made it with wheat instead of rat poison? Yes. If a company has an ingredient in that cereal that isn't listed on the box, do you go and blame the grocery store for offering it? No. That would be dumb.
I always trust the ingredients label on food items, since they are required by law to be correct. (Like how childrens apps now are required to not track you)
And yes, i do blame the grocery store if they offer something which has a faulty ingredient list, since they are the ones responsible for selling it. Thats how it works in Sweden at least; we contact the retailer first instead of going directly to the manufacturer.
So it's the parents job to go through thousands of pages of code to make sure a game marketed directly to children does not collect personal data about said child?
It's a parent's job, if they are concerned about such things, to not use apps as a substitute for family time. Do you go to a chemist with a box of cereal to verify the sugar content? No. Do you exercise reasonable caution, and assume that the company producing the cereal made it with wheat instead of rat poison? Yes. If a company has an ingredient in that cereal that isn't listed on the box, do you go and blame the grocery store for offering it? No. That would be dumb.