Groups announce 2011 Develop for Privacy Challenge

Four privacy organizations have issued a challenge to mobile application developers: build solutions for privacy concerns for smartphones and other mobile devices.

is a new competition sponsored by the ACLU of Northern California, the ACLU of Washington, the Tor Project and the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner's Office.

Smartphones, while convenient, can also collect and share vast amounts of data that can paint detailed pictures of their users, the groups note in a

detailing the challenge, and electronic privacy laws have not kept pace with such technology.

"We shouldn't have to choose between using a smartphone and keeping our private information private," says Chris Conley of the ACLU of Northern California. "It's increasingly difficult for most people to understand where their data is going, let alone how they can reclaim control. Technology has evolved at breakneck speed, and although privacy laws don't auto-update, innovative developers can help fill the gap."

The goal of the 2011 Develop for Privacy Challenge is to encourage amateur and professional software developers to create tools to help mobile device users understand and address potential privacy threats, explains Brian Alseth of the ACLU of Washington.

"Sometimes the best way to protect the privacy of your information is to ensure that it isn't being exposed or collected in the first place," notes Andrew Lewman of the Tor Project.

Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian, who has also endorsed the challenge, adds, “If we want to preserve the privacy that so many of our freedoms rest upon, we need to commit to new and innovative approaches, and we need to do it now."

Entries are due by May 31 and the winner, who will be chosen by a team of expert judges from the academic, industry and public interest sectors, will be announced in August at an event coinciding with the DEFCON and Black Hat security conferences.