Penalty Amount
$38,000
The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs settled with DealerApp, a mobile app developer for auto dealerships, for allegedly collecting and transmitting consumer personal information without notice or consent. DealerApp agreed to pay a $38,000 civil penalty and implement measures to disclose data practices and obtain consent for third-party sharing.
DealerApp must pay a $38,000 civil penalty, clearly disclose data collection practices in privacy policies, disclose use of third-party analytics, and not transfer personal information without consumer consent or opt-out mechanism.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements between DealerApp and auto dealerships, as well as any end-user license agreements or terms of service presented to consumers via the apps. Key clauses to scrutinize include data sharing provisions (especially transmission to third-party analytics companies), consent mechanisms for collecting and sharing personal information, privacy policy disclosure requirements, and data processing obligations. Changes will likely be needed to mandate clear, conspicuous disclosure of all data recipients (including DealerApp itself), implement robust opt-in consent for third-party sharing, and ensure dealership clients are fully informed of the data flows they are authorizing. Agreements may also require amendments to align with specific state-level privacy notice and consent standards.
Entity
DealerApp
Industry
TechnologyOfficial Press Release
https://www.njoag.gov/new-jersey-division-of-consumer-affairs-obtains-settlement-with-mobile-app-developer-that-allegedly-collected-consumer-information-without-notice-and-consent-in-violation-of-state-law-2/
New Jersey Attorney General Enforcement Page
https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-of-consumer-affairs/
"DealerApp develops apps that are customized for each auto dealership"
"of which $38,000 is a civil penalty"
"in violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act."
"The Division of Consumer Affairs enforces the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, the New Jersey Computer-Related Offenses Act"
"consumers who downloaded these apps were never informed that these apps transmitted personal information"
"transmitted certain information to third-party data analytics companies without disclosing this to consumers."
$18.0M
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$45.0M
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