Apple questions the accuracy of new privacy labels in iOS 14



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How to use widgets on your iPhone's home screenSource: Joseph Keller / iMore

The House Committee on Energy and Commerce has written to Apple “urging” the company to review its iOS 14 privacy labels, after receiving reports that they are misleading.

In a press release, the committee stated:

Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee Chair Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) wrote today to Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging to have the new privacy labels for Apple apps reviewed and improved in light of recent reports suggesting that they are often misleading or inaccurate.

The committee refers to recent reports that “found that approximately one-third of the apps evaluated with” Data Not Collected “labels collected data,” The Washington Post reported. Of the letter:

Simplifying and improving privacy disclosures is a laudable goal, but consumer confidence in privacy labeling approaches can be undermined if Apple’s app privacy labels spread false and misleading information. Without meaningful and accurate information, Apple’s transparency and illumination tool can become a source of consumer confusion and harm. False and misleading privacy labels can trick privacy-conscious consumers into downloading data-intensive applications and ultimately erode the credibility and integrity of the labels. A privacy label without credibility and integrity can also weaken the competitive forces that encourage application developers to improve their data practices.

The letter, addressed directly to Tim Cook, seeks clarification in a number of areas, including details about the process Apple uses to audit privacy information provided by developers, how common this is, the criteria, and more. It also asks how many apps have been audited and how many of them were found to be misleading.

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It also asks if the app’s privacy labels are corrected after inaccuracies are discovered, what Apple’s app policies are, if there are stricter rules for apps targeting young children, and if Apple notifies users when an app is made. material change in the label of an application.

Apple has until February 23 to respond.



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