Chinanews client, Beijing, November 8th (Reporter Wu Tao) You may have encountered, "Browse and purchase products on a certain APP, and other APPs will push related content."
Many netizens believe that this is part of the APP monitoring their online behavior.
Now, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has taken action!
"Where is information sharing used" should let users know
On the 8th, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology interpreted the "Notice on Carrying out Information and Communication Service Perception Improvement Actions" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice").
It pointed out that the establishment of a list of personal information shared with third parties.
At present, the use of third-party SDKs and other third-party services has become a common technical means in the development and operation of APPs. While helping the rapid realization of APP functions and services, it has also caused some problems that infringe on the rights and interests of users.
Data map.
The user is performing face recognition in the APP.
Photo by Niu Jing of China News Service
According to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, users often report that “browsing and purchasing products on a certain APP, while other apps will push related content”, users are unaware of where personal information is shared, which can easily cause panic.
In order to let users have a clear grasp of the sharing of personal information among APP, SDK and other third parties, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated that on the basis of the previous APP special governance actions, it further requires companies to list the personal users shared by APP and third parties in the secondary menu. Basic information about the information, including the types of personal information shared with third parties, purpose of use, usage scenarios, and sharing methods, etc.
"The collection and use of user information must be clearly informed"
In addition, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology also pointed out that some companies still have the problem of unclear notification of collecting and using information, and users report that they are not clear about what personal information the APP collects.
The "Notice" requires relevant companies to concisely and clearly list the basic information of users' personal information that APP (including the embedded third-party software tool development kit SDK) has collected, including the type of information, purpose of use, and usage scenarios.
In addition, most companies currently inform users of personal information processing rules in their privacy policies. However, in terms of form and content, there are common problems such as obscurity, lengthy and cumbersome use of a large number of professional terms, which makes it difficult for users to truly understand individuals. The purpose and purpose for which the information was collected.
In this regard, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requested to optimize the privacy policy and the way of displaying permissions.
In terms of privacy policy, the "Notice" clarifies that companies should provide users with a summary of APP privacy policies in a concise, clear, and easy-to-understand manner. The content presented should be concise and focused so that users can read and understand.
In terms of permission calls, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology conducted a special rectification action for app infringement of user rights in the early stage. It was found that APP forced, frequent, and excessive requests for user permissions were repeatedly banned. App did not inform the user of the purpose of calling permissions in detail when calling permissions, and the display of calling permissions Unclear issues have caused users to question and misunderstand.
The "Notice" requires that if sensitive permissions such as albums, address books, and locations in the user terminal are invoked, the user should be notified of the invocation permissions in an appropriate manner, such as through a mask, floating windows on the top bar, etc., when the service scenario actually occurs. The purpose is to allow users to have a clearer understanding of the purpose of permissions, and to fully protect users' right to know, so that users can make active choices more clearly.
extend
——55 APPs that exceed the scope and frequently request permissions are ordered to be rectified
On November 3, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stated in a "look back" circular on the issue of APP requesting permission beyond the scope and excessive collection of user personal information (the 11th batch in 2021, the 20th batch in total):
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has conducted inspections for violations such as users’ complaints about APP over-range, frequent requests for permissions, collection of user personal information that is not necessary for service scenarios, and deception and misleading users to download. A total of 38 APPs have been found to have problems.
The communications administrations have actively carried out APP technical testing. Up to now, 17 APPs have not completed the rectification within the time limit.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology notified the list of problematic application software.
Screenshot of part of the list
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires that the above 55 APPs should be rectified before November 9. If the rectification is not completed within the time limit or the rectification is not in place, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will deal with it in accordance with the law and impose administrative penalties.
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