How Apple May - Or May Not - Be A Leader On Privacy And Data Use

There has been big news on the battle for privacy and data recently, as Apple took action against some of the other biggest names in the business.

- 

Well, it was big news if this transpires to be a watershed moment in the fight. If, instead, this turns out to be a mere ‘good news’ publicity stunt that has no impact whatsoever on future practices, then very little of long-term consequence will have occurred.

However, the outlook does look promising.

SANCTIONS FOR BOTH GOOGLE AND FACEBOOK

Within the space of two days, Apple recently clamped down on both Google and Facebook for violating the terms of their developer agreements. Google had distributed the Screenwise Meter app, which dished out gift cards to users in exchange for Google being able to monitor a user’s web traffic and data via a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

And just one day before this revelation, it was revealed that Facebook had been doing something similar. Paying users as young as 13 up to $20 per month, the Facebook Research app incentivized the sacrifice of personal data, with a program referred to in some documentation – both mysteriously and befittingly – as ‘Project Atlas’.

In both instances, Apple rescinded the associated Enterprise Developer Certificates, meaning apps that the tech giants’ employees use internally will not work again until further notice. Facebook especially could have done without yet another data usage fiasco. As well as last year’s Cambridge Analytica revelations for which they were heavily fined, there were already rumors circulating that the social network was using Apple devices to surreptitiously collect user information.