The Federal Trade Commission held a workshop on September 15, entitled “Big Data: A Tool for Inclusion or Exclusion?” where FTC Commissioner Julie Brill emphasized the push to place more scrutiny on data brokers, reaffirming ideas and objectives expressed in the FTC’s May 2014 report on transparency and accountability.
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Julie Brill
DMA Not a Supporter of “Reclaim Your Name” Campaign
Back in June, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill unveiled an initiative called, “Reclaim Your Name” at the Computer Freedom and Privacy Conference. Her proposed initiative is directed to the big data industry and calls on data brokers to give consumers more control over their personal data. According to Commissioner Brill, Reclaim Your Name would “empower the consumer to find out how brokers are collecting and using data; give her access to information that data brokers have amassed about her; allow her to opt-out if she learns a data broker is selling her information for marketing purposes; and provide her the opportunity to correct errors in information used for substantive decisions – like credit, insurance, employment, and other benefits.”
Commissioner Brill followed up her remarks at the Conference with an op-ed piece in the Washington Post earlier this month, again demanding transparency from data brokers. In her op-ed, Commissioner Brill likened the efforts of data brokers who collect data on surfing habits and app usage to the type of information the NSA was collecting. She also opined that “personal data could be — and probably are — used by firms making decisions that aren’t regulated by the FCRA but still affect users’ lives profoundly” and that these decisions include whether consumers are too risky to do business with or aren’t right for certain clubs, dating services, schools or other programs.
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