The ESRB has announced that in addition to its services providing content ratings for games, it will also begin to monitor privacy in games. Three new seals have been unveiled for applications, Privacy certified, Kids Privacy Certified, and Mobile Privacy Certified. These three new seals signify that an app or website complies with high-level privacy certification in North America.
Privacy Certified signifies that a general-audience website meets with global privacy laws. The Kids seal shows that a site directed towards children meets with these practices and meets the requirements set forth by the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Finally, the Mobile seal signifies that a mobile app complies with mobile privacy standards and practices.
“Privacy protection is an imperative for companies of all sizes, especially when kids are involved,” said ESRB Privacy Certified vice president Dona Fraser in a press statement. “But achieving compliance with requirements like COPPA can be complicated, particularly for rapidly evolving platforms like mobile.”
Privacy has become an incredibly important part of application development and its appeal to consumers. Peace of mind that information won’t be shared and spread throughout the Internet left and right is important, and this new initiative from the ESRB is one step forward in making sure that users know that their data will be safe.
Source: ESRB
