Many mobile apps aimed at children collect and share personal data without notifying parents, potentially violating U.S. law, the Federal Trade Commission said in a report released Monday.
Facebook has launched an expanded privacy education campaign for new users, with the focus on default settings, user access to their own data and deciding who they share their information with.
Privacy and technology groups generally applauded a wide-ranging settlement between Facebook and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the social-networking site's privacy practices.
A coalition of privacy and consumer groups is pushing for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to add conditions, including requiring that Google get opt-in permission from users before collecting their data, to its proposed settlement over privacy problems related to the rollout of Google's Buzz social-networking service in early 2010.
Two high-profile U.S. senators have introduced legislation designed to give consumers more control over what information about them is collected online, but privacy advocates said the bill will do little to curb wide-spread data-collection practices now in place.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has closed an investigation into Google Street View cars snooping into open Wi-Fi networks, with the agency declining to take action.