See No Evil: Loopholes in Google’s Data Safety Labels Keep Companies in the Clear and Consumers in the Dark https://foundation.mozilla.org/documents/311/PNI_Google_Play_Store_Research_Report_2023.pdf Feb. 23, 2023 Jen Caltrider and Anne Stopper When it comes to knowing how online apps use our personal data, consumers are still largely unprotected, similar to the landscape in the early years of nutrition labeling. Mozilla began its *Privacy Not Included project in 2017 to make it easier for consumers to assess the privacy and security features of products that connect to the internet before they make a purchase..
.In nearly 80% of the apps we reviewed, we found some discrepancies between the apps’ privacy policies and the information they reported on Google’s Data Safety Form.
16 out of 40 apps, or 40%, had major discrepancies between their privacy policies and their Data Safety Forms, earning a “Poor” grade.
( There are )shortcomings in Google’s Data Safety Form itself:
The form includes significant loopholes, like failing to require the apps to report data sharing with “service providers.”
Google uses narrow definitions for data “collection” and “sharing,” making it easier for app developers to mislead users.
Google also exempts “anonymized” data from its disclosure requirements, which is problematic due to questions about whether true anonymization is even possible.
TikTok has been increasingly under pressure: The EU just opened an investigation because of their data use practices and TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew is scheduled to testify before the U.S. Congress next month. Mounting concerns about privacy is not what TikTok wants right now - let’s use this opportunity and get them to clean up their messy privacy practices. (taken from https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/tell-tiktok-stop-misleading-android-users-and-provide-full-transparency-about-your-privacy-practices/ ) No matter the reason or justification for TikTok to share misleading information about their data sharing practices, you and everyone else should be able to make an informed choice about your privacy and the apps you use.