FTC Highlights Need for Privacy and Security in Internet Commerce

Written by Jillian Collins

The Federal Trade Commission has weighed in as part of the Department of Commerce's public comment process on privacy and security issues. According to the FTC's comment, consumers trusting that their personal information will be safeguarded is essential to the success of e-commerce, and innovation is essential to ensuring privacy in the fast-paced, ever-changing world of the Internet economy. The topic of innovation and internet privacy controls has been, and continues to be, one of the FTC’s "highest consumer protection priorities for more than a decade," according to the comment.

In the comment, the FTC laid out several aspects of its privacy program. The agency led nearly 30 enforcement cases challenging business practices that allegedly failed to secure consumers' personal information and made efforts at educating consumers and businesses about privacy and security in an online world. The FTC also has several policy initiatives including promoting self-regulation in online behavioral advertising and participates in international privacy programs. The agency hosted several privacy roundtables and plans to public privacy and security proposals for public comment later this year.

Related links:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/06/foodinternet.shtm

Some "light reading" for privacy geeks...

Or, actually, for anyone interested in building privacy into business from the "ground up" and how privacy can (and should) become a business differentiator. Dr. Ann Cavoukian is Ontario's Information and Privacy Commissioner and has long been an advocate of privacy technologies and coined the term "Privacy by Design" in the late-nineties. Her latest book is called exactly that -- "Privacy by Design" and can be downloaded at http://www.privacybydesign.ca/pbdbook/PrivacybyDesignBook.pdf .

It's a must-read for thought leadership in this space.

Some Social Networking Developments

If you are a regular user of online social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others, you want to check out a new research paper by a couple of researchers at AT&T Labs and Worcester Polytech that points to some disturbing evidence of the “leakage” of personally identifiable information from the social networking sites to third party advertisers through cookies. The study is reportedly the first of its kind to describe a way by which tracking sites could directly link browsing habits to specific individuals. Privacy advocates have certainly taken notice: Electronic Frontier Foundation calls social networking privacy study alarming.

Also, if you are a Facebook user, be on the lookout for some changes to the Privacy Policy. Canada’s Privacy Commissioner held a press conference this morning to announce that Facebook has agreed to implement a host of changes responding to an investigation by Canadian regulators, including changes that will give users more control over third-party applications.

Speech: Remarks at a Press Conference on the Facebook Investigation by the Privacy Commissioner of Canada – August 27, 2009
Facebook Tweaks Privacy Policy in Face of Inquiry - InternetNews.com

A "Wayback Machine" for Privacy Policies??

The typical "boilerplate" (lawyers' hate that word, BTW) in website Terms of Use goes as follows:  "We reserve the right to change these Terms of Use at any time.  You should check back to this page to view changes.  Continued use of this website is deemed acceptance of any such changes."   Ever wonder what "such changes" might have occurred?  

Wonder no more.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation (“EFF”) has launched the TOSBack website, which tracks changes to several different types of website policies, including Terms of Service, User Agreements, and Privacy Policies. The site's home page lists those policies with the most recent changes and the dates on which the changes took effect.  You can click on each entry or on the specific website and policy to see a side-by-side comparison of the old version and new versions of the policy with the changes highlighted. 

Go to the website for a full list, but it currently tracks changes to 44 separate policies including those of Amazon, eBay, Apple, Facebook, Whitehouse.gov and others. The EFF plans to track more agreements on the TOSBack site in the future, including agreements from credit card issuers, banks, and cable TV providers.  Fair warning.

FTC: BT Inquiry Coming "Soon"

Apparently, the FTC plans on stepping up the Commission's inquiries into online behavioral tracking. That's what an American Bar Association Antitrust Section conference on consumer protection heard last week from two senior FTC officials.

On his third day on the job, David Vladeck, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said he plans to maintain, and even step up, the bureau's aggressive law enforcement
efforts, and has set his sights on companies' data collection practices, saying that "[n]otice and consent may have outlived its usefulness." Vladeck said the bureau will consider alternatives to privacy policies, at least as they exist today.

Stay tuned as we find out what form the FTC's promised hard look will take--another town hall meeting or perhaps a rulemaking proceeding. Eileen Harrington, deputy director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, told the group that FTC action is imminent.