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FTC scolds Apple, Google and developers over (lack of) kids' privacy

Parents still aren't given the guidance they need to determine whether or not kids' apps are safe, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday.

MOBILE-phone-based games could be subject to classification checks under a re-elected Labor Government.

Games available for download from Apple's iTunes, for example, do not contain ratings from the Federal Government's Classification Board, despite the board declaring on its website that all games must be classified.

Four U.S. Senators want Apple to remove police checkpoint apps for public safety reasons, but really it's just a way to control what apps we can or cannot buy.

When you use the Internet, you entrust your conversations, thoughts, experiences, locations, photos, and more to companies like Google, AT&T and Facebook. But what do these companies do when the government demands your private information? Do they stand with you? Do they let you know what’s going on?

For example, which companies require a warrant to give up your data? Which ones will even bother to tell you when your data has been "requested"?

Halliburton and BP had data weeks ahead of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that showed the cement mixture the companies used to seal the well was unstable, but did not act on the information, according to a report by the US National Commission investigating the Macondo spill.

legislation that would give authorities the ability to identify the owners of pre-paid cellphones, which they say is long overdue "because for years, terrorists, drug kingpins and gang members have stayed one step ahead of the law by using prepaid phones that are hard to trace." That new tracking ability would also consequently place some new requirements on cellphone carriers and people buying the phones -- specifically, anyone buying a pre-paid cellphone would be required to present identification before buying a phone

"The U.S. International Trade Commission agreed in a unanimous vote today that Chinese solar manufacturers have benefited from illegal subsidies from its government and sold products at less than fair value, the final decision in more than a year-long trade tussle."

Police departments, the FCC and the wireless phone industry have devised a plan to fight smartphone thefts: the creation of a central database to track stolen phones and prevent them from being used again, which will allow wireless providers to disable and block further use of a device once it is reported stolen. Legislation from Congress that would make it a federal crime to tamper with a PHONE'S UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS in an attempt to evade the blocking process.

Outside the Washington headquarters of the Federal Trade Commission is a sculpture of a powerfully built, shirtless man forcibly restraining an unruly horse. It's called "Man Controlling Trade," and it captures a common attitude in government: Oftentimes, capitalist firms need to be saddled and broken.