FTC Proposes Privacy Browser Setting for Consumers’ Online Use
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a preliminary staff report that
proposes a framework for businesses and policymakers to protect the privacy
of consumers using the Internet. FTC staff seeks stakeholder comments on
the proposed framework until January 31, 2011, and a final report will follow.
The report coincides with a recent congressional hearing during which FTC
officials testified that a “persistent” browser setting could allow consumers
to choose whether companies can collect data about their online searching
and browsing. According to an agency press release, although online tracking
can help targeted advertising efforts, FTC “supports giving consumers a
‘Do Not Track’ option because the practice is largely invisible to consumers,
and they should have a simple, easy way to control it.” The option could be accomplished through legislation or “potentially through robust, enforceable self-regulation,” FTC said. “The advantage of industry doing something
themselves is that they can move much more quickly than lawmakers,” FTC
Chair Jon Leibowitz told news sources.
If Congress chooses to enact legislation, FTC urged it to consider such issues as (i) the benefits that online “behavioral” advertising provides consumers; (ii) “an option that lets consumers choose to opt out completely or choose certain types of advertising they wish to receive or data they are willing to have collected about them”; and (iii) new FTC authority to fine violators to “provide a strong incentive for companies to comply with any legal requirements, helping to deter future violations.” See Legal Times, December 1, 2010; FTC Press Release, December 2, 2010.
