In January, President Obama called on senior government officials to lead a review of the implications of Big Data for privacy, the economy and public policy. A Federal Register Notice by the White House’s Science and Technology Policy Office sought comments from industry participants on a variety of issues related to Big Data. Earlier this week, the ANA submitted its comments in response to the Notice, focusing on the public policy implications of the collection, storage, analysis, and use of Big Data. In determining what the potential concerns of Big Data are, the ANA said that the focus should be on the sensitivity and potential vulnerability to harm of the data, not the amount of data in and of itself. As an example, the ANA pointed out that, “[c]ommercial privacy issues must not be allowed to be conflated with government surveillance and potential reforms at the NSA. These issues must not be confused with interest-based advertising or online behavioral advertising (OBA).” The ANA also urged that any governmental decisions about commercial data collection and use be made “carefully, correctly and judiciously.” In its comments, the ANA highlighted the progress made over the past few years by the private sector to enhance privacy protections for consumers, making specific reference to the self-regulatory efforts by the Digital Advertising Alliance.
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Chilly Reception at the White House
On January 6, 2010, The Weatherproof Garment Company (a division of David Peyser Sportwear) put up a billboard (actually two, a diptych) in New York’s Times Square. The advertiser used an Associated Press (AP) licensed photo of President Barack Obama during his visit to China’s Great Wall back in autumn wearing a Weatherproof jacket. Legal
What Do We Have to Look Forward to in 2009
It’s a new year, and change is in the air. Although the holidays are over, some groups in Washington are hanging on to their wish lists with the hopes that President Obama will grant their desires.
Over the past few months, Obama has sent agency review teams into dozens of government offices, ranging from the Pentagon to the EPA to the FTC. These teams are dissecting agency initiatives, poring over budgets and reviewing functionality. Many lobbying groups see this time of transition as a prime opportunity to achieve desired changes by gaining the ear of the new administration.
In fact, in December, leading privacy and consumer groups met with leaders of the FTC review team to spread the message that the FTC has allowed industries to self-regulate online privacy practices – to the detriment of consumers – for far too long. Privacy groups are not alone in their concern. Obama himself said during his campaign that “[d]ramatic increases in computing power, decreases in storage costs and huge flows of information that characterize the digital age bring enormous benefits, but also create risk of abuse. We need sensible safeguards that protect privacy in this dynamic new world.” He committed to “strengthen the privacy protections for the digital age and to harness the power of technology to hold government and business accountable for violations of personal privacy.”
During their meeting with the FTC agency review team, privacy groups stressed a need for better (more?) regulation of targeted online marketing, oversight in the data broker industry, and privacy policies for medical information, just to name a few. Susan Grant, director of consumer protection at the Consumer Federation, called the Network Advertising Initiative’s behavioral advertising self-regulatory code of conduct “deceptive on its face,” and called for the FTC to establish a “Do Not Track” registry, similar to the popular “Do Not Call” registry for telemarketing. In support of increased oversight of data brokers, Beth Givens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse cited numerous complaints from consumers about use of their personally identifiable information by companies in violation of stated privacy policies.
In addition to Obama taking office, a Democratic shift in Congress has the potential to lead to increased regulation. In fact, two senators (Markey (D-Mass.) and Dorgan (D-N.D.)) have already expressed an interest in introducing Internet privacy legislation that would likely outlaw behavioral targeting, cookies and “deep packet inspection.” In addition, a bill currently pending in Congress would expand and enhance the authority of the FTC, possibly increasing the number of FTC litigations.Continue Reading What Do We Have to Look Forward to in 2009