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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.

Comparing a new survey of kids' apps with its 2011 study, the FTC observed "little progress toward giving parents the information they need to determine what data is being collected from their children, how it is being shared, or who will have access to it." To make matters worse, in-app connections to social media and mobile ad networks make tracking even more difficult, and even hard to identify by the developer itself.