Airline data breach hits WestJet exposing over 1M passengers
Thursday, October 30, 2025 by Russ Scritchfield
Canada’s second-largest airline, WestJet, disclosed that a data breach earlier this year compromised the personal information of approximately 1.2 million passengers. The airline reported the incident in a filing with Maine’s attorney general, confirming that 240 residents in the state were affected.
Details of the information compromised
The informati...
Apple withdraws ICE tracking apps from App Store including ICEBlock
Friday, October 10, 2025 by Trey Abbe
Apple has removed ICEBlock and similar applications from its App Store following a request from the Trump administration. The move marks a rare instance of a U.S. technology firm complying with a federal demand to take down apps, raising new questions about the balance between public safety, free speech, and corporate responsibility.
What the apps did
ICEBlock and...
Ad tech antitrust trial begins as Google seeks to avoid breakup
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 by Richard Harris
Alphabet’s Google is facing a U.S. antitrust trial in Alexandria, Virginia, that could determine whether the company must sell part of its online advertising business. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and a coalition of states are seeking to limit Google’s control over its ad exchange, AdX, which facilitates automated online advertising auctions for publisher...
Tilting Point lawsuit settles for 500K after violating COPPA and CCPA
Monday, July 22, 2024 by Richard Harris
On June 18, 2024, the California Attorney General and Los Angeles City Attorney settled a case against Tilting Point Media LLC for violating privacy laws related to children's data. The video game developer allegedly breached the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) through their mobile app, &q...
GDPR and data security
Friday, September 18, 2020 by Jonathan Weicher
How has the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) affected your firm during the past two years? It has been nearly that long since GDPR went into effect across Europe, applicable for any organizations handling the personal information of European citizens. Since that time, it appears to be performing well up to expectations. Firms of all kinds find themse...
How the new US administration will effect Internet privacy
Thursday, February 2, 2017 by Austin Harris
NordVPN has observed a notable increase in inquiries immediately after the U.S. election and a stable growth of interest from Americans ever since.As the new U.S. President starts his four-year term, many wonder what will be the new policy on government surveillance of ordinary citizens. President Donald Trump, while being vague on his views concerning Internet privacy,...
Creating Apps for Kids What It Means to be COPPA Compliant
Wednesday, January 27, 2016 by Gai Havkin
A cute little interface and amazing content is often thought to be the right recipe for a killer app for kids. No doubt these are the main ingredients, but in order to have an app that’ll truly make it in the long run, a developer must be very thoughtful regarding the app’s monetization strategy AND genuine kid-friendliness - not only in interface and content - but also...
O Brother, Where Art Thou How New Laws Are Governing the Collection and Use of Geolocation Information Inside Apps
Saturday, September 20, 2014 by Adam Grant
Trying to find out where someone is located is valuable information for businesses and attorneys, but there are new laws winding their way through Congress which directly impact how this information is obtained. In 2000, George Clooney appeared in the Joel and Ethan Coen comedy titled O Brother, Where Art Thou? The Coen brothers’ movie created the story as a modern...
IoT meets VR: The Next Concern Over Mobile Privacy
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 by Adam Grant
In the beginning of this year at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, it seemed as if every sponsor and vendor was introducing a product that demonstrated a deep commitment to mobile technology and its interaction with the “Internet of Things.” Clearly, 2014 appeared to be the year mobile technology would move from a consumer’s interaction only with th...
App Law and Which Way I Ought To Go From Here
Tuesday, April 1, 2014 by Adam Grant
On March 21, the FTC issued a press release that caused me
to reflect on a certain piece of famous literature I read as a child. As I read
the press release, I thought about Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic, Alice in Wonderland, and how it could
provide guidance to mobile app developer’s when considering how the law
regulates a child’s use of an app. Lewis
wrote t...
FTC Questions Just How Much Light Flashlight App Sheds on Amount of Information Obtained from Users
Monday, December 9, 2013 by Adam Grant
On Friday, December 5, 2013, the FTC announced it settled charges against Goldenshores Technologies, LLC, the company behind the “Brightest Flashlight Free” App. According to the release, the app has been downloaded tens of millions of times by users of the Android operating system. The FTC claimed the company’s privacy policy failed to tell users the app collected th...
From Lemonade and Lucy to COPPA and Cookies
Sunday, December 8, 2013 by Adam Grant
On July 1, 2013, the Child Online Privacy Protection Policy
(“COPPA”) dramatically altered how we think about cookies
Growing up as children in the US, our first taste of
commerce involved selling lemonade in front of our house on a sweltering summer
day, or wondering what justified the hefty price of 5 cents Lucy charged
Charlie Brown for psychiatr...
AT&T, Sprint, T Mobile, Verizon To End Most Premium Text Service Billing
Friday, November 22, 2013 by Richard Harris
Premium text message billing on the four largest carriers will soon be ending, hopefully putting an end to such services that have become a significant gateway for fraud, mostly in the Android market.45 states have been looking into the issue known as "cramming" for a long time now and are happy that the carriers have finally decided to help stomp out the problem.“While...
The October 2013 Issue Is Here!
Thursday, October 10, 2013 by Richard Harris
We are proud to announce the arrival of the latest issue of App Developer magazine....finally!Sorry for the delay in publishing everyone, I could rattle off a few reasons for the delay but I would rather get to what matters - it's here!Inside the October issue, Peach Pellen tells us what not to name your app, a reader tip on why ASO isn't the only choice ...
What Is The Apps Act of 2013
Monday, October 7, 2013 by Adam Grant
In January 2013, the California
Attorney General issued a report
entitled, Privacy on the Go;
Recommendations for the Mobile
Ecosystem. In the very next month,
the Federal Trade Commission
issued its own report, Mobile
Privacy Disclosures; Building Trust
Through Transparency.
Finally, Congress is talking about
the country’s concerns over privacy
and is consid...
Courts Question Mobile App Privacy Issue
Saturday, May 11, 2013 by Richard Harris
On December 12, 2012 last year, the Attorney General for the State of California filed against Delta Air Lines alleging, for the first time in California, that Delta Air Lines, California’s Online Privacy Protection law when it collected personal identifiable information using its “Fly Delta” mobile application. On May 9, 2013, the San Francisco Superior Cour...
Why do you need a privacy policy for your app Here is why
Friday, November 30, 2012 by Richard Harris
App devs listen up. If you don't have a privacy policy written for your application you need one! Take a look at this story of some developers in the State of California that defied an order to revile their privacy policies for their apps. When the state Attorney General in California asks you for something - you better take notice. The developers were as...
