SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)--Apple Inc. (AAPL) and a handful of mobile app developers have been sued for allegedly transmitting user information to advertising networks without the consent of owners of its mobile products, like the iPhone and iPad.

In a complaint filed Thursday, Jonathan Lalo of Los Angeles County, Calif., said Apple and a group of mobile application developers were selling personal data, including his age, gender and location to ad networks.

Lalo "did not expect, receive notice of, or consent to Defendants' tracking of his iPhone app use and did not want Defendants to engage in such activity," the suit said. The actions are in contradiction with Apple's stated policies, which do not allow apps to transmit data about a user without consent, the suit said.

Apple didn't respond to a request for comment.

Read more here--> http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20101228-706485.html

Apple slapped with iOS privacy lawsuit

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'We respect your privacy' promise in dispute

By Rik Myslewski in San Francisco • Get more from this author

Posted in ID, 28th December 2010 20:11 GMT

Apple has been named in a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company allows iOS applications to provide advertisers with sensitive – and supposedly private – user information, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, which broke the story on Tuesday.

"Apple claims to review each application before offering it to users, purports to have implemented app privacy standards, and claims to have created 'strong privacy protections' for its customers," the complaint states. "However, Plaintiffs have discovered that some of these apps have been transmitting their personal, identifying information ('PII') to advertising networks without obtaining their consent."

Read more here --> http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/12/28/apple_privacy_lawsuit/

Original WSJ investigative report --> http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704694004576020083703574602.html

Your Apps Are Watching You

A WSJ Investigation finds that iPhone and Android apps are breaching the privacy of smartphone users

New devices know more personal details about people than the smartphones in their pockets: phone numbers, current location, often the owner's real name—even a unique ID number that can never be changed or turned off.

These phones don't keep secrets. They are sharing this personal data widely and regularly, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found.

An examination of 101 popular smartphone "apps"—games and other software applications for iPhone and Android phones—showed that 56 transmitted the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent. Forty-seven apps transmitted the phone's location in some way. Five sent age, gender and other personal details to outsiders.

an earlier posted topic on this subject runs here:

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