Recently, the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center found that 15 mobile APPS and 1 SDK (third-party software development kit) had privacy non-compliance through Internet monitoring, violating the relevant provisions of the Cybersecurity Law and the Personal Information Protection Law, and suspected of collecting personal privacy information beyond the scope. Zhu Huiqingzuo (Xinhua News Agency)
To help the elderly cross the "digital divide", it is necessary to guide the elderly to learn how to use mobile phone apps and improve the smartphone experience of the elderly. The picture shows that a few days ago, in front of a supermarket in Nanmo Town, Hai'an City, Jiangsu Province, volunteers instructed the elderly to use a mobile phone APP to scan a two-dimensional code. Photo by Zhai Huiyong (People's Vision)
Want to browse the link, but encountered "do not download the APP (mobile application) will not be shown"; willing to download is not enough, app and require access to positioning, video and recording and other permissions... Recently, in response to the mandatory download of APP by some websites when users browse page information, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has urged relevant Internet companies to rectify.
Behind the induced download, what may be the infringement of user rights and interests? In the next step, how to carry out targeted APP rectification and create a good mobile Internet industry ecology?
Forced downloads infringe on user rights
Winning more active users by providing better services, so as to achieve a virtuous circle of "customer acquisition - living customer - revenue generation - customer acquisition", is what most APP developers and operators pursue. However, some apps use non-compliant methods to infringe on users' rights and interests when acquiring customers. Many people have encountered the situation of being asked to download the APP from the page of personal computer, mobile browser, WeChat circle of friends, etc., so as to collect user personal information, excessive permission and other problems are endless.
"Some links go to the login page and ask the user to download the app. If the user ignores the download request, the user's browsing experience is interfered with by folding, jumping pop-ups, etc. Beijing white-collar Zhang Song often browses various links in the WeChat circle of friends, and finds that more and more links are "bound" with related APPS, "if you don't download it, you won't let you see", which bothers him.
In addition to the WeChat circle of friends, the mobile browser page is also a "high incidence area" for some APP forced download behaviors. Some users reported to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology that when logging into a forum through a mobile browser, they can only browse the title and main content, and they need to download the APP to browse all the comments. Some people also reflect that although some information and knowledge sharing platforms do not have a mandatory requirement to download APP, they "wipe the edge ball" in other aspects, and their links are not good in the WeChat circle of friends and mobile browsers, most of the comments are folded, and if you want to read freely, you must download the relevant APP.
"Don't download it and don't show it" is one of the by-products of the APP's "barbaric growth". In recent years, APP has increasingly become an important mobile Internet interactive carrier in the era of digital economy. On the one hand, a variety of APP facilitates the lives of residents, on the other hand, it also produces many problems in the process of "barbaric growth". Problems such as forced or deceptively induced downloads and excessive permission claims undermine the industry ecology.
In response to related issues, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the Interim Provisions on the Administration of Mobile Intelligent Terminal Application Software Provisioning and Distribution as early as 2016. The provisions require that mobile intelligent terminal application software provided by production enterprises and Internet information service providers must not call terminal functions unrelated to the services provided, illegally send commercial electronic information, and without explicitly and with the consent of users, they must not carry out acts that infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of users or endanger network security, such as collecting and using users' personal information, opening application software, bundling and promoting other application software.
Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology once again stressed that in response to the mandatory download of APP issues on some websites reported by users when users browse page information, the Information and Communications Administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology attaches great importance to this, immediately organizes verification, and convenes administrative guidance meetings to urge relevant Internet enterprises to rectify.
Play a good "combination fist" of APP governance
"Don't download it, don't show it" is the first link in the APP infringement chain of "inducing downloading - excessive claiming - collecting user information - obtaining improper benefits".
"Forcing or inducing downloads is only the first step, and the next step is to ask for various permissions, one moment to use the camera, one moment to locate, one moment to look at the address book, and then a large number of push ads." Uncle Hu in Beijing is over seventy years old, and he has not been in contact with smart phones for a long time, but because the APP induces downloads and excessive claims for power, he talks about the discoloration of the "machine", and even moves the idea of changing back to a non-smart phone.
Not long ago, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced the first batch of "APP Circulars on Infringement of User Rights and Interests" this year, and "APP compulsory, frequent and excessive requests for permissions" have become an important issue repeatedly mentioned in the circular.
In response to the problem of APP infringement, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has played a "combination fist" of APP governance, and vigorously rectified the illegal collection and use of personal information, pop-up window harassment and other violations of users' rights and interests through the formulation of standards, technical inspection, special rectification, industry self-discipline and other measures. According to reports, in 2021, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has tested 2.08 million APPS, notified 1549 illegal APPS, and removed 514 APPS that refused to rectify.
How to govern "don't download, don't let me see"? The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology puts forward three requirements for relevant APPS: when users browse the content of the page, without the user's consent or active selection, they must not automatically or force the download of the APP; when recommending the download of the APP, they should provide obvious "cancel" options at the same time to effectively protect the user's right to know and choose; without reasonable and legitimate reasons, the user must not be required not to download the APP and not to read it, or not to let you read the full text. At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology stressed that it is not allowed to force or mislead users to download, open, or jump to the app store by folding display, active pop-up window, frequent prompting, and reducing experience, affecting users' normal browsing information.
During the interview, the reporter found that many elderly users reported that their mobile phone pages often inexplicably "grew" many new APPS. Industry insiders pointed out that some APP tricks the elderly to download by jumping out of the button, pop-up window, etc., and secretly collects user information and data profiling after installation, and targets various types of inferior content and advertisements with a deceptive nature to the elderly users.
"The kids always have to help me clean up and uninstall the apps on my phone. This time uninstalled, the next time there will be a new one, sometimes the download button will even be disguised as 'red packet', 'coupon' and other forms, dazzling and unclear, if you are not careful, you will click the wrong one. Uncle Hu said.
To create a clear cyberspace for the elderly, it is necessary to help the elderly cross the "digital divide". According to reports, while strengthening app governance, the aging transformation of APP is also being carried out simultaneously. Since last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has organized a nationwide special action for APP aging and barrier-free transformation, organized 227 websites and APP to complete the transformation, launched a variety of distinctive functions such as font amplification, voice guidance, and "one-click direct connection manual customer service", guided terminal enterprises to provide support for the design and production of aging intelligent terminal products, and promoted a number of SIMPLE interfaces and easy operation OF APP to meet the needs of elderly users. In the next step, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will also focus on the elderly and other key groups to promote information inclusion, organize a new batch of APP to carry out ageing and information barrier-free transformation and improvement, and create a number of benchmarks for aging and barrier-free transformation.
Multi-party efforts to optimize the industry ecology
Industry insiders said that protecting the rights and interests of APP users and personal information requires developers, operators, SDK (third-party software development kit) providers, app stores and regulatory authorities to form a joint force to establish a good industry ecology.
The "APP Personal Information Protection White Paper" released by mobile phone manufacturer OPPO and Deloitte proposes that APP developers and operators should improve the personal information protection system and working mechanism, improve the technical ability of security protection, actively carry out personal information protection assessment, strengthen the security review and management of third-party software development kits, and do a good job in the pre-protection measures for the protection of users' personal information. At the same time, third-party software development kit providers should improve the personal information protection compliance system, and disclose the rules for the collection and use of personal information to APP developers and operators and end users.
For app stores, the White Paper believes that as an APP distribution platform, it should strengthen the management of APP shelf review and shelf monitoring, reject the listing application with malicious behavior and obvious violations, and timely dispose of illegal APP found in the process of shelf monitoring and required to be removed by the regulatory authorities.
In the process of APP governance, regulators will continue to play an important role. Previously, in accordance with the "Notice on Carrying Out special rectification actions to promote app infringement of users' rights and interests in depth" and other deployments, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology inspected APP deception and misleading users to download, ultra-range high-frequency requests and other violations.
For apps in the territory that deceive and mislead users to download, excessively request permission, and collect personal information in violation of regulations, the local communications management departments have begun to rectify them. The reporter combed and found that in recent months, the communications administration bureaus of Shanxi, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Shaanxi and other places have actively carried out APP technology monitoring, and have removed hundreds of APPS with serious violations and refusal to rectify. Among them, the Beijing Municipal Communications Administration removed 16 APP that infringed on the rights and interests of users, such as "Daoke Reading", "Leju House Buying" and "e-Bag Washing", of which 8 APP had the problem of compulsory, frequent and excessive permission.
In the future, APP governance work will continue to intensify. Focusing on the various violations reflected by users, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said that it will carry out full-chain and full-coverage supervision of many links involved in mobile Internet services, mainly to achieve three "full coverage" - full coverage of all kinds of terminals for mobile phones and tablets; full coverage of key chain of responsibility links such as application stores, third-party software development kits, and preset pre-installation; full coverage of APP technology testing, so that users' rights and interests can be fully protected. At the same time, improve the level of personal information protection, and urge major Internet companies to establish customer service hotlines to respond to user demands. In terms of establishing a long-term mechanism, we will further improve the incentive mechanism and accountability mechanism around key areas such as mobile Internet services and personal information protection, strengthen technical means, and stimulate the momentum of enterprises to improve services and improve their levels.
Source: Overseas Network