The California Attorney General’s office announced on October 30, 2012 that the state will begin notifying dozens of mobile application developers and companies of their failure to comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 22575-22579. 

The Act requires commercial operators of online services to conspicuously post a privacy policy.  The policy must inform users about what personally identifiable information is being collected and how it is to be used.  In the context of mobile applications, Companies found violating the Act may be fined as much as $2,500 each time a noncompliant app is downloaded.

In a public statement , Attorney General Kamala Harris said, “[p]rotecting the privacy of online consumers is a serious law enforcement matter.”  The Attorney General’s office plans on pursuing as many as 100 non-compliant application developers for violations of the Act.