HHR New Media, Entertainment and Technology Group

A prominent developer of mobile applications, W3 Innovations, LLC, the parent company of Broken Thumb Apps (“W3”), has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) in its first enforcement action involving mobile applications (“apps”), according to terms of the settlement announced last week. The FTC’s complaint, filed on August 12, 2011, alleged that W3, which develops and distributes mobile apps for Apple and Android devices, several of which are directed at children and are listed in the “Games-Kids” section of the iTunes App Store, violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by illegally collecting personal information from children under the age of 13 without prior parental consent.  Continue Reading »

Since its launch this past Spring, Apple’s new iAd interface has promised to change the landscape of mobile advertising and how consumers and advertisers interact.  But the multiple, interlocking terms of use, developer agreements and privacy policies that govern various aspects of the iAd system also raise some interesting issues surrounding the collection and sharing of information regarding users viewing ads served through the iAd platform.  And these issues are not limited to Apple’s iAd environment and should be of interest and concern to all stakeholders in the mobile space. Continue Reading »

Over the last year, social networking sites, most notably those with a developer platform such as Facebook, have become hotbeds for virtual goods purchases, social gaming, sweepstakes and advertising-based promotions.  Many of these are based on custom-designed and developed third party applications and widgets, which are veritable revenue drivers for the platform operators.  Several months ago Apple modified the terms for its iPhone application development agreement (via an amendment to the iPhone SDK terms)  to specifically permit app-based contests and sweepstakes.  Specifically, Apple added the following language: “Your Application may include promotional sweepstakes or contest functionality provided that You are the sole sponsor of the promotion and that You and Your Application comply with any applicable laws.” However, questions have arisen regarding the legality of running these games and promotions via such applications and platforms.  At their core, these questions focus on the legal distinctions between lotteries, contests and sweepstakes, distinctions that could mean the difference between a highly successful promotion and a high-profile legal headache. Continue Reading »

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) is one of the primary protections consumers have against telemarketers.  And now, as a result of a recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, consumers will also receive protection under the TCPA for unsolicited text messages.  This decision will likely have wide-ranging impacts as text messages have been increasingly used by marketers to reach consumers. Continue Reading »

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• As online, targeted advertising becomes more and more common, the question of balancing privacy concerns and commercial demands is becoming increasingly more complex.  While website privacy policies can disclose how information provided to the site’s publisher may be used, they can’t explain how and why you are being shown a specific advertisement when you visit the site.  Joseph Turow, a marketing professor at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, has developed an approach to provide consumers with more information and control over how they view ads.  Mr. Turow’s plan:  place an icon on Continue Reading »