Today’s settlement reached by the FTC to address COPPA violations by the Emily’s Girls series of mobile apps is a positive outcome for developers. The safety and privacy of children in the mobile marketplace is of paramount importance to app developers and we welcome the Commission’s vigorous enforcement in this area. Today’s action underscores the considerable authority available to the FTC to address unfair and deceptive trade practices which, the Commission explained in its Senate testimony in May, provides sufficient enforcement measures to regulate the apps marketplace.
We working to ensure that COPPA standards and regulatory measures are well understood by app makers. We have spoken with thousands of developers to help them better understand the legal framework addressing children’s online privacy and FTC regulations governing personal information. As the mobile app industry continues to grow, and the methods to address privacy in this space evolve, developers and regulators will need to work together to understand how apps interact with consumer information.