It's always heartening to see Congressmen make efforts to stand up for privacy rights. Yesterday, Rep. Hank Johnson launched AppRights.us, a website dedicated to promoting privacy, security, and transparency around mobile apps. Operating under the motto that "our apps should serve us—not spy on us," Johnson's website asks for feedback about issues surrounding mobile devices.

Mobile privacy and consumer rights are important issues to EFF, and we hope that Rep. Johnson keeps our previous work on the topic in mind—most notably our Mobile User Privacy Bill of Rights. This document contains key points for developers to keep in mind when it comes to respecting their users' privacy—including transparently focusing data collection on solely what is needed, as well as giving users more control over their personal data. EFF also recently filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission about mobile device privacy, bringing light to current troubling industry practices.

A friend of the Internet, Johnson opposed SOPA and voted against CISPA. He also grilled the Director of National Security Agency, General Keith Alexander, earlier this year in a hearing about the Agency's surveillance capabilities.