Privacy paranoia triggers FTC smack-down

The mobile ecosystem had better perk up and start sweating the details before the Privatistas over at the Center for Digital Democracy force them into a tight and useless corner. And I say the entire ecosystem, rather than just the apps developers, because if the CDD prevails, the filters for downloading and using apps, particularly for children, are going to become so draconian that it will kill innovation in this market before its had the opportunity to really take off.

Apps are the compelling event in driving the mobile experience; no one buys an iPhone to make a phone call, they buy it for the apps. Same thing with Android, the devices are a commodity delivery mechanism for the app, but if the Privatistas have their way, the compelling event will be severely stifled, to the point of insignificance, and the entire ecosystem goes into a tailspin.

What was the triggering event in this instance? The CDD jumped on its high horse and filed a complaint with the FTC about a company called Mobbles, who has developed a wildly popular mobile game targeting children. Their concern is that information is being gathered by the app (including geo-location data, which is an integral component of how this particular app works) without the kids (or parents) consent.

A couple of news flashes for the CDD:

1)Kids don’t care about privacy. Ever heard of a site called Facebook? A billion people disclosing unimaginable levels of information about themselves, on a non-stop basis.

2)Even if you explain it to them (and I tried explaining it to mine), they want to be identifiable on a network (using an alias), so their friends can find them. They want to have advertisers show them more cool games, they’ve grown up in this milieu, and they’re totally used to it. The only ones who are wound up about this are the curmudgeons at the CDD.

3)If you have a problem with what a company is doing, tell them. The CDD never bothered to contact Mobbles, just went straight to the FTC (why address the problem when you can grandstand?).

These elements aside, the CDD still misses the point. What are the primary objectives of gathering data on users accessing applications from a mobile device?

First, better targeting of ads within a network, and creating the opportunity to sell ancillary products that are likely to be of interest to the consumer. The primary point here is that people want to be advertised to when the information is timely and relevant, and the whole objective of ad targeting is to increase relevancy rates. This is effectively the exact opposite of spam.

Second, capturing and providing feedback on how the product is being used, on the assumption that the next release will be an upgrade since developers have a better sense of what users are actually doing. The primary point here is that software products are continuously evolving, and the best products are those that are driven by an end-users needs or wants. In-app analytics are an incredibly valuable source of information on end-user requirements, the more information we have, the better product we can build.

The Association for Competitive Technology, which is the mobile app equivalent of the Internet Advertising Bureau (the last industry association to get their asses kicked by the CDD) had better start taking these people seriously. Like it or not, the CDD has the ear of the legislators in Washington, who are neither businessmen or technologists, and will pander to the loudest voice.