Google under fire for sending users' information to developers

Google is coming under fire just as regulators in the U.S. and overseas are stepping up their scrutiny of how all the players in the industry -- mobile apps, stores, advertising networks and others -- handle consumers' private information.

Regulators are pushing for greater transparency of what information is collected by apps and how it's shared. Google Play has worked differently than Apple Inc.'s iTunes since it launched in October 2008. An app developer sets up an account through the mobile payment system Google Wallet, which makes them a merchant in the store. When someone buys his or her app from Google Play, that transaction -- and the customer's information -- is sent to the developer. The developer has to comply with rules about what he or she can do with the information. But at Apple, iTunes is the merchant. App developers say they never receive customer information. Google defended how Google Play operates. "Google Wallet shares the information necessary to process a transaction, which is clearly spelled out in the Google Wallet Privacy Notice," Google said.