Mozilla has alleged that Google Play Store’s new Data Safety Labs do not supply users with accurate information.
Giving examples, it said in a post that Google Play Store’s Data Safety labels would have you believe that neither TikTok nor Twitter share personal data with 3rd parties. The apps’ privacy policies, however, both explicitly state that they share user information with advertisers, Internet service providers, platforms, & numerous other types of companies.
These were two of the “most egregious examples” uncovered by Mozilla’s *Privacy Not Included researchers as part of a study. In nearly 80% of the apps reviewed, Mozilla found that the labels were false or misleading based on discrepancies between the apps’ privacy policies & the information apps self-reported on Google’s Data Safety Form. Researchers concluded that the system fails to help consumers make more informed choices about their privacy before purchasing or downloading one of the store’s 2.7 million apps.
The study – “See No Evil: How Loopholes in the Google Play Store’s Data Safety Labels Leave Companies in the Clear and Consumers in the Dark,” – has uncovered loopholes in the Data Safety Form, which make it easy for apps to provide false or misleading information. For example, Google exempts apps sharing data with “service providers” from its disclosure requirements, which, claimed Mozilla, was problematic due to both the narrow definition it uses for service providers & the large amount of consumer data involved. Google absolved itself of the responsibility to verify whether the information was true, stating that apps “are responsible for making complete and accurate declarations” in their Data Safety labels.
