MMA Guidelines Will Highlight Mobile Data Privacy

The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) has been spurred to action following reports that smartphone ads and apps have been distributing users’ personal information to third parties.

The move was spurred by a Wall Street Journal report that a number of smartphone apps send personal data to third-party companies without the user knowing. This covert operation is impossible for the user to block.

Furthermore, the data captured by cameras is increasing as tag files attached to the image data record time, place, and technical details. These are often upload to sites such as Flickr or within cloud storage apps.

Growing Need For Privacy Awareness

“The objective of these guidelines is to address the growing need for marketers and consumers to have a transparent, accepted understanding as to how consumer information is collected and used for the purposes of relevant value exchange within a mobile marketing context and across market sectors,” stated the MMA.

The MMA is calling upon media companies, mobile carriers, marketers, agencies and media technologists to join the initiative through membership of its Privacy Committee. The subject will be addressed at the MMA’s Consumer Best Practices (CBP) Public Forum on January 26 in Florida.

The privacy initiative is being led by Alan Chapell, president of Chapell & Associates and co-chair of the Privacy Committee. The aim is to establish a common framework that marketers and media companies can use to engage consumers but honour their privacy wishes.

“As an emerging industry, there’s a significant opportunity in the mobile space for all participants to proactively embrace the concept of ‘privacy by design,’” said Chapell.

No date has been set for the publication of guidelines because it is still at the discovery and discussion stage.

Greg Stuart, global CEO of the MMA, said, “The industry recognises that, in order for marketers and publishers to responsibly and sustainably engage consumers through and with the mobile channel, we need to continuously update how we address the collection, management and use of personal data or related consumer information.”

The industry body’s announcement comes amid growing concern about Internet privacy. In the US the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has called for a “Do Not Track” registry to protect Web users from cookie tracking beyond the bounds of an individual website. The US has also seen president Obama calling for a “privacy bill of rights” to regulate the commercial collection of personal data online.

The UK government has yet to make a move but awareness is building within government and the broader tenure of the European parliament.