蘋果在保健應用的管理上小心謹慎
Apple is tightening up its privacy rules to ensure a new generation of health and fitness apps are not thwarted by growing concerns over how developers use personal data.
蘋果(Apple)收緊了隱私保護方面的規定，以確保使用者對個人資料的擔心不至於影響到新一代醫療健身應用的發展。The rules will stop personal data collected through Apple’s new HealthKit platform being used to target adverts for products such as weight loss remedies.
根據新規，蘋果新推出的HealthKit平臺上收集的個人資料，將不能被用來向用戶定向投放廣告，比如減肥藥廣告。
HealthKit, which will track data including exercise levels and sleep, is one of the key features of a new mobile operating system that will next month launch alongside a new iPhone and a highly anticipated wearable device, dubbed the iWatch by pundits.
蘋果將於下月9日釋出新款iPhone、備受關注的可穿戴裝置iWatch，以及新一代移動作業系統。HealthKit是最新作業系統中的一大特色功能，可以跟蹤包括鍛鍊水平和睡眠情況在內的個人資料。
Shares in Apple touched a fresh high on Thursday after Apple sent out invites for a media launch on September 9, at which the group is expected to unveil new iPhones and possibly a wearable device.
週四，在蘋果發出下月媒體釋出會的邀請函之後，蘋果股價又創新高。Health apps, which can track intimate data such as heart rate, have seen a spike in popularity in the past year. But studies by regulators and privacy groups have found some developers pass user data on to advertising networks, often without telling the customer.
過去一年裡，保健類應用人氣激增，這類應用能跟蹤心率等與個人關係密切的資料。然而監管機構及隱私保護團體發現，一些開發人員會在不通知消費者的情況下，將使用者資料傳送給廣告商。In the latest update to Apple’s iOS developer program licence agreement, Apple said developers must “not sell an end-user’s health information collected through the HealthKit API to advertising platforms, data brokers or information resellers”.
在蘋果最新版的iOS開發人員應用程式許可協議中，蘋果表示，開發人員“不能將通過HealthKit應用程式介面(API)收集的終端使用者健康資訊出售給廣告平臺、資料經紀商或資訊經銷商”。The privacy clampdown comes as Apple seeks to differentiate itself against rival Google, which relies on targeted ads for much of its income.
蘋果試圖通過這一保護隱私規定，凸顯自己與競爭對手谷歌(Google)的不同。後者的許多收入來自定向廣告。In June, Apple unveiled its Health app, a new dashboard to allow iPhone owners to track their heart rate, calorie intake, movement and other fitness metrics from a variety of different apps in a single place. Underlying the dashboard is the HealthKit system, which allows developers to contribute data from their own apps and draw on information from others if users grant permission.
今年6月，蘋果釋出了一款名為“Health”的應用。這款應用提供了一個類似儀表盤的介面，可以跟蹤其它應用程式收集到的心率、卡路里攝入量、運動量和其他健身資料。這款應用即是基於HealthKit系統。這個系統允許開發人員把自身應用獲得的資料傳送給其他應用，同時也能在使用者許可的情況下從其他應用獲取資訊。Developers who want to tap into HealthKit's application programming interface (API) must commit to a new set of rules, including a requirement to link to a privacy policy.
開發人員要使用HealthKit提供的API，就必須遵守一套新的規則，其中包括與隱私保護有關的要求。HealthKit apps must not use the API or any information obtained through it “for any purpose other than providing health and/or fitness services”, Apple’s new rules state. All apps participating in the scheme must offer privacy policies
蘋果新規則表示，HealthKit應用不能把API或任何通過它獲得的資料“用於提供保健或健身服務之外的目的”。Apps that break these rules risk ejection from the App Store, while any breach of a privacy policy could involve federal regulatory enforcement.
違反這類規則的應用將被拒絕納入蘋果應用商店(App Store)，而任何違反隱私保護政策的行為都有可能導致聯邦監管機構執法部門的介入。The move from an App Store dominated by games and chat apps into health and fitness introduces much greater regulatory complexity for Apple and the people who create software for its iPhone and iPad.
對於蘋果公司以及那些為iPhone和iPad編寫程式的人們來說，從以開發遊戲和聊天應用為主，轉向至開發醫療和健身應用，會招致更多監管方面的複雜問題。Above and beyond its already-strict rules for developers, Apple is being extra careful in how it curates Health apps, after consulting with regulators. In January, Apple executives discussed “medical applications” with the US Food and Drug Administration, the agency’s records have shown.
蘋果對開發人員的限制原本就很嚴格，而在保健應用的管理上則更加小心謹慎。為此該公司事先還徵求過監管機構的意見。根據美國食品與藥品管理局(US Food and Drug Administration)的記錄，今年1月蘋果主管曾與該機構討論過“醫療應用程式”。
