Google requires application providers to provide information about data usage

Google will require app providers to inform the Google Play app store about the personal data their apps use. Google will make this commitment next summer. Apple has already made this mandatory at the end of 2020. Starting in 2022, consumers will see this information when they choose an app in the Play Store. They can then consider information regarding the use of their data in their choice of a specific application. This motivates service providers to compete with each other on favorable privacy terms.

Through this change, Google is responding to the call of 27 international consumer regulators, united in the ICPEN (International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network). The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) is part of this network and, together with colleagues from Norway and the United Kingdom, is the driving force behind the action.

What will change for the consumer?
Comparing and selecting apps for privacy-related features gets a lot easier. Google will then ask app providers to provide information on the app’s product page in the Play Store about the data the app collects.

Cateautje Hijmans van den Bergh, ACM Board Member: “It’s good that Google is taking this step now too. The information about the data the app uses is of great importance to consumers. If this information is available, they can better control their privacy. Hard for it inside ICPEN. “

Topic of the digital economy agenda
The digital economy has many advantages, such as ease of comparison and ordering of products and services. Digital markets don’t always work well for individuals and businesses. This is why the digital economy is the subject of ACM’s agenda in 2021. In this context, ACM will enforce online deception in 2021. ACM is also investigating the conditions under which service providers have access to the Apple App Store.