Congressman touts draft bill aimed at mobile app privacy

A new draft bill published today aims to increase privacy for mobile app users.

Led by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), the bill aims to legally require app developers to publicize how they gather information and also let users request deletion of their stored data.

To create the draft language for the bill, Johnson and his Web-based initiative, AppRights, held meetings with members of the Internet community, public-interest groups, app developers, and other industry stakeholders. Dubbed "The Application Privacy, Protection, and Security Act of 2013," or the APPS Act, the bill "addresses the public's growing concern with data collection on mobile devices."

Several politicians have been working on tightening app privacy over the past few years. In California, the attorney general issued a set of mobile app privacy protection guidelines under the California Online Privacy Protection Act last week. U.S. Sen. Al Franken has also ... [Read more]