Nothing is Free on the Web

We just gave our 12 year old son an iPod for Hanukkah, along with a speech about how he is (and is not) to use his new mobile device to access the Internet, play games, keep in touch with friends, and download music, video, and games. Yesterday, he was proudly telling me about  free apps he had downloaded when I realized I had neglected to tell him that nothing is free on the Web. He is paying for those "free" apps with his personal information. We were driving in the car at the time, and coincidentally, a few moments later, NPR ran a story about the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) newly released report that mobile apps makers are collecting large amounts of data about child users and sharing this information with advertisers without proper disclosure. Collected information can include device identifiers, telephone numbers, and location data. One game app which encourages children to conduct a scavenger hunt in their neighborhood using their hand-held devices even collects the child's home address! (Today's Wall Street Journal ran an article on this as well: "Firms Faulted on Kids' Apps", Tuesday, December 11, page B3).

My son and I listened closely to the story and then talked about what that meant for him.He didn't think the problem applied to him because none of the apps had asked him for personal information and none had anything to do with his location. I explained to him that the apps did not have to ask for the information, they just collected it whenever he used his iPod, and that if GPS is enabled, the app can collect information about his location without him even knowing it. He didn't think that was possible. So I explained how these functions can be written into the computer code for the app and into pages he views on the Internet. I pointed out that Facebook users don't even have to click on the "like" button on websites they visit. Facebook has code embedded in those pages that allows Facebook to collect information about them regardless of whether they click the "like" button.

According to a Wall Street Journal article published over the weekend, "one Web page can contain computer code from dozens of companies and tracking firms" (p. C2). Pages with "Like" or "Tweet" buttons can match individual's browsing behavior with their identities even if the buttons are not used. Furthermore, websites that request a login often share the user's real name, username, and email address with third parties. This information is used by advertisers to target specific people with ads and special offers. While some may appreciate this "service", there are few safeguards on how our personal information is used and/or distributed

What can be done about this? Well, honestly, not too much. We can disable GPS on our devices. We can set our browser settings for private browsing, and clear cookies after every Web search. But if we want to use particular apps or Web services like Pandora, Facebook, or YouTube, giving up our personal information is something we accept in exchange for the "free" service. We have to decide how comfortable we are with this. If we are not comfortable, we need to contact the FTC and write our representatives in Congress. But mostly, we need to be aware that nothing is free on the Web.

References:

• Kaste, Martin. (December 11, 2012). FTC: Apps For Children Raise Privacy Concerns. National Public Radio (NPR). Web. http://www.npr.org/2012/12/11/166935136/ftc-apps-for-children-raise-privacy-concerns
• Troianovski, Anton. (December 11, 2012). Firms Faulted On Kids' Apps. The Wall Street Journal. Print.
• Valention-DeVries, Jennifer, and Jeremy Singer-Vine. (December 8-9, 2012). They Know What You're Shopping For. The Wall Street Journal. Print and Web. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324784404578143144132736214.html