App users must be vigilant about their personal data – Clune

Fine Gael Cork Senator, Deirdre Clune, has today (Wednesday) urged all phone app users to exercise vigilance with their own personal data when using so-called ‘leaky apps’ on their smart phones. Senator Clune was speaking after she raised the issue in the Seanad with the Minister for Justice, Alan Shatter TD, who agreed that current data protection Directives need to be updated.

“I raised this issue with Minister Shatter because I am concerned at reports about how leaky phone apps, such as Angry Birds, are being targeted for personal data collection by global surveillance operations.

“Minister Shatter has agreed that the current Directive, which dates back to 1995, needs to be updated, taking into account more recent developments such as the increased usage of mobile phones, apps, cloud computing, social networking and the increasing globalisation of data transfers.

“It is encouraging that, as the Minister pointed out, proposals on data protection are being discussed at an EU level. But consumers using leaky apps need to be made more aware about protecting their own personal data.   According to Zscaler, a leading global research and analysis company, 25% of social-networking apps request e-mail access, a massive 92% ask for access to users’ address books and 84% inquire about their physical locations.

“Reports suggest that the leaky apps with the greatest privacy risks are; Angry Birds, which has been downloaded of over 1 billion times to date; Candy Crush Saga, which is currently the most popular game on Facebook; Google Plus; Google Maps and Pinterest.

“Tens of thousands of Irish people use one or more of these apps on a daily basis, and I am urging them to be more aware and vigilant in protecting their own personal data.”

ENDS