FTC Encourages Self-Regulation in Online Privacy: Testimony
The Federal Trade Commission encouraged industry self-regulation specific to online privacy and profiling by online ad-server companies during testimony yesterday before a Senate Committee in Washington.
Jodie Bernstein, the director of the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection, said the FTC told the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation that the commission has been in talks with industry members from the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) about how to achieve the goal, according to a Reuters report. The FTC report did not include any legislative recommendations to Congress.
While emphasizing that online profiling “can benefit both consumers and businesses,” the FTC said it has found “widespread concern about current profiling practices,” especially profiling conducted without consumers’ knowledge. It is also concerned about the detailed monitoring of consumer behavior across many Web sites over a long period of time, Reuters said.
Online advertising agency, DoubleClick Inc., New York, found itself in the middle of controversy earlier this year over its plans to merge anonymous click-stream data with offline data from Abacus Direct. It has shelved those plans until a standard is created.
The Reuters report said that the NAI has formulated working drafts of self-regulatory principles for the FTC and Department of Commerce staff. Talks between the groups are not complete. The FTC plans on add specific recommendations in its report to Congress after it considers self-regulatory proposals.
