Advocacy group asks for FTC investigation of Samsung Jay-Z app

IN-APP-PROPRIATE: EPIC wants the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Samsung for the Jay-Z app, the L.A. Times reports. No, not the label: the Electronic Privacy Information Center, or EPIC for short. The advocacy group says the Magna Carta Holy Grail smart-phone app, which 1.2 million Samsung users downloaded to get the album (#1 on this week's chart, dontcha know) for free. A complaint filed with the FTC alleges that the app collected data beyond what was needed to function and intruded upon users' privacy. Samsung says the claims are baseless and that users had to give their permission before downloading. Also, who really expects privacy nowadays? OK, they didn't say that. The Times quotes Jeremiah Reynolds, an attorney specializing in intellectual-property issues, who thinks there's slim chance of the FTC taking action on this front. "People may believe it's intrusive," Reynolds says, "but as long as it's correctly described and as long as the people give consent, I don't see what the issue is." In a related story, the NSA thinks that if you're concerned about what an app can see on your phone, that's just adorable. (7/16p)