By Ginny Kozemczak
With a mission of improving the digital ecosystem through international monitoring and accountability, IDAC knows a key component of success requires educating and collaborating with online applications and platforms who share our vision.
IDAC is excited to partner with Data Catalyst in an effort to increase privacy standards across the digital and app ecosystem through developer education and engagement.
Data Catalyst is a non-profit organization focused on informing and shaping data privacy policies that provide both meaningful protection and promote economic and social good by working with governments, academics, and industry partners to realize the benefits of a data-driven world made possible by a more integrated regulatory approach.
Throughout its investigations of mobile apps to date, IDAC has identified many problems that could be solved during the app development phase. If developers have the proper understanding of privacy risks, consumer data will be better protected when a user downloads and uses mobile apps.
IDAC and Data Catalyst will work together to provide insight into mobile app development focused on consumer data privacy and will support developer education curriculum and outreach.
“Our work as an independent watchdog is made more effective through collaborative efforts like this with Data Catalyst,” said IDAC President Quentin Palfrey. “In order to create a more fair, trustworthy digital ecosystem, organizations need to step up and work with developers to create better practices. You cannot expect to see a positive change when recurrent issues happen unless you take the time to implement meaningful, long-term educational programs.”
“The goal of our work is to inform and shape data privacy policies in order to provide protections for consumers and promote good practices in the digital world,” said Data Catalyst Executive Director Peter Cherukuri. “This partnership is a step toward ensuring good, trustworthy practices become the norm in the developer space. We are excited to work with IDAC on prioritizing developer education as a means of improving data protocols worldwide.”
Together IDAC and Data Catalyst will create educational content aimed at helping developers better understand best privacy practices through informative graphics, analysis, and events. The two teams will work together to identify trends in the developer workspace to continuously update educational materials and ensure that developers have the most up-to-date, impactful information to protect mobile app users.