Sources indicate that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is planning to introduce new rules on commercial surveillance in the coming months. These rules will focus on ensuring that companies handle the data they collect from apps, websites, and devices in a responsible manner.
Based on information from two insiders at the agency, the guidelines will focus on ensuring data security and minimizing the amount of data collected by companies. This means that companies should only gather the necessary data for conducting business with customers and should delete it once the business relationship ends.
Additional focuses will involve algorithmic accountability, which suggests that companies should be held responsible for the outcomes of decisions made by algorithms. This also includes addressing how to safeguard consumers’ civil rights in cases of algorithmic mistakes.
Since August 2022, the agency has been quietly working on developing new rules to address issues related to harmful commercial surveillance and weak data security.
Commercial surveillance involves collecting, examining, and profiting from individuals’ personal information. This can impact various businesses that rely on data, such as banks, stores, insurance companies, car makers, and technology companies like Meta and Google.
Upon initially revealing its investigation into a new rule, the agency stated in a public statement that widespread surveillance has increased the dangers and consequences of data breaches, fraud, manipulation, and other forms of misconduct.
Proposed regulations for commercial surveillance are expected to significantly affect data privacy by clearly defining acceptable and unacceptable practices for companies, reducing the need for fragmented enforcement actions.
Officials from the agency have been indicating that this project may be reaching its final stages in the past few days. During a speech at Fordham Law School last week, Bureau of Consumer Protection Director Samuel Levine discussed a number of recent enforcement actions by the FTC. He mentioned that these actions are setting the stage for the ongoing process of creating rules to protect consumers’ data through surveillance.
Levine mentioned several recent FTC actions, such as five cases where companies were penalized for using consumers’ private health information for advertising and 16 orders that required companies to limit the amount of data they collect.
Levine expressed concerns about how current commercial surveillance practices are not only violating our privacy but also our basic freedoms. The goal is to create a space online where Americans can have privacy without constantly being monitored, which would otherwise compromise their freedoms.
A representative from the FTC chose not to provide a comment for this article.
The privacy community is closely monitoring the FTC’s efforts to establish new regulations on commercial surveillance, as advocates believe that significant changes are necessary in order to protect privacy rights.
Cody Venzke, a senior policy counsel at the ACLU, believes that it is important for an agency to set guidelines for how our information is collected and used. This would be a significant move towards acknowledging our right to privacy both online and offline, and it should prompt Congress to take similar action.
Another privacy advocate, who chose not to be identified for confidentiality reasons related to the FTC’s plans, described the rulemaking as the most extensive effort by the FTC to oversee privacy on a broad scale, rather than their typical approach of addressing privacy through individual enforcement actions.
The agency first mentioned that they were thinking about implementing a rule that focused on algorithm accountability, data minimization, and security. They highlighted the connection between these aspects in their announcement.
Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter stated that data abuses, such as secret biometric or location tracking, unfair algorithmic decision-making, or weak data security practices, have been influenced by or are in support of almost unrestricted commercial data collection, storage, use, and distribution. She announced that the agency would be conducting an investigation into the new rule.
The document started off by alerting readers to the fact that companies are collecting data from Americans in various aspects of their daily lives, such as when they shop for groceries, do schoolwork, or seek car insurance. This data includes personal information like their whereabouts, religious practices, social connections, menstrual cycles, internet browsing habits, and physical appearances.
After the FTC releases its “notice of proposed rulemaking,” it will organize a hearing to allow for additional public input before finalizing the new rule.
Despite the FTC making progress, the American Privacy Rights Act could potentially disrupt their efforts if it becomes law. This proposed legislation aims to eliminate an FTC regulation on commercial surveillance, but its chances of passing in Congress are uncertain. It remains to be seen whether the APRA will be successful in gaining support and ultimately becoming law.