The other shoe finally dropped. The Federal Trade Commission, which has already reached limited, individual settlements with Google and Facebook over privacy, called on Congress to be ready to pass broad legislation governing the collection and use of consumers' data.
As anticipated, the centerpiece of the FTC's proposals is a "Do Not Track" system. In a new report, "Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change," the agency encouraged Internet companies to have "Do Not Track" buttons in place on a voluntary basis by the end of the year.
In other guidelines, the FTC says that companies should build privacy controls into every stage of the development of online products and should offer greater transparency to consumers about the data collected. The FTC excludes companies collecting -- and not transferring -- small amounts of nonsensitive data from the framework.
Without legislative teeth, of course, the report remains no more than a guide to best-practices. The online enterprise is generally hostile to "Do Not Track," with one company official describing it as "death for online advertising." The FTC insists, however, that there will be congressional support for mandatory "Do Not Track" if companies do not move swiftly to introduce a system voluntarily.
Enterprise fears are not baseless but may well be exaggerated. Telemarketing was impacted by the FTC's introduction of a national "Do Not Call" registry, but the industry was not decimated, as had been feared. The FTC has emphasized that "Do Not Track" means just that -- it doesn't mean "Do Not Advertise."
Under the FTC guidelines, would consumers lose the use of Websites and apps that offer free access in return for data collection? Not necessarily. Even if opting-in becomes the default setting for sites and apps under a voluntary or mandatory "Do Not Track" system, there would be nothing to prevent consumers from willingly -- and knowingly -- giving up privacy in return for products and services.
While it's possible that the issuance of this report will have the intended effect of bringing Internet enterprises to the bargaining table to devise a self-regulatory framework, with the FTC retaining the threat of its enforcement powers under the FTC Act, that result is far from guaranteed. If the example of Google is anything to go by, arrogance in the face of regulatory initiatives is considered a viable default position.
Google introduced its unified privacy policy in the face of clear warnings of illegality from senior European officials. That's hardly the action of a corporation willing to give up its data collection practices at the request of a US government agency. Facebook, which bases all its non-US operations in Europe, has already had its feet held to the fire over privacy by the Irish Data Protection Commission.
Congressional action may be a necessary resort, but the prospect provides scant comfort for consumers. Senators are divided over such an apparently uncontroversial idea as enhancing the cybersecurity of the national infrastructure. The FTC may be all too complacent in thinking that Capitol Hill will do its bidding on consumer privacy, especially if Internet giants mobilize their growing lobbying power. It's sure to be a bumpy ride, whatever the outcome, but at least the FTC is steering in the right direction.
Politicians do seem to identify it as a positive issue for them. Members of Congress and Congressional committees don't hesitate to pile on whenever it leaks out the Google or Facebook have been up to no good. Whether this can translate into positive legislation is another question, I agree.
Understood, Kicheko. And if Congress passes (or doesn't pass) legislation for or against ISPs or just to get elected, the motive makes for awkward and half-baked approaches, IMO. That's where we get things like PIPA/SOPA.
To Nicole's point, I don't have faith that Congress will make sense of any issue right now, not in 2012, anyway.
Maybe the only way privacy will become a legislative priority--and it eventually will become the top issue of the day, we just don't know when that day will arrive--is if it becomes personal to an influential legislator.
I certainly don't wish that to occur and hope it doesn't, but it seems like that's the only time a cultural issue finally gets to the stage.
Mary, - I think one of the questions to ponder is whether Congress itself is actually truly that interested in regulating these internet giants. As you know private corporations are the engines by which governments run and so they won't always want to offend them. However there's also the political hypocrisy that comes with an election year. I'm not saying this is the case, but it is a possible scenario.
While I applaud the FTC for calling out these companies on privacy issues, But I am with Nicole on this one: I don't anticipate either cooperation from Google et al or effective action from government. Indeed, Congress would only make things worse. Haven't we learned that from the recent SOPA/PIPA debacle?
Alas, Kim, I think you best sum up the benefits of "congressional muscle" here: "Congressional action may be a necessary resort, but the prospect provides scant comfort for consumers. Senators are divided over such an apparently uncontroversial idea as enhancing the cybersecurity of the national infrastructure."
I have very little faith in Congress to make sense of this issue.
I'm still not sure how I feel about the Do Not Track idea in general, but you make a good argument for it. I would rather see how this plays out then see Congress attempt to get involved.
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Extending existing US wiretap laws to give federal agencies easier backdoor access to Internet communications -- especially real-time P2P services like VoIP -- will give, not only aid and comfort, but also technical assistance, to the country's enemies. Not to mention cyberthieves.
When David E. Sanger of The New York Times broke the news that the United States was responsible for the Stuxnet malware exploit against Iran's nuclear program, Senator John McCain accused the administration of deliberately leaking the story to enhance President Obama's national security record.
The Gamma Group's business of supplying surveillance technology exclusively for use by government agencies may be legitimate. But not when it poses as the popular, free, open-source web browser Firefox.
Yesterday's hack of the official Associated Press Twitter feed demonstrated the enormous risk attached to the platform's lazy, single factor approach to security.
In the final episode of this series about the death of Internet anonymity, Saunders describes how the Internet of the future will start to attain a level of intelligence that requires no human intervention. Scary.
What can users today do to protect their online privacy? The simplest and most obvious option is to not use the Internet – at all. However, once all digital information is consolidated over the Internet, trying to protect digital identity by simply unplugging from the Internet becomes impossible – a fact that has manifest implications for civil liberties, Saunders says.
By 2011 the number of Internet-connected sensors will exceed 1 trillion, making your chances of doing anything or going anywhere unnoticed pretty much zero. Saunders talks about how the 'sensortization' of the Internet is eliminating the traditional divide between online and offline populations.
The 20th Century Internet was characterized by the ability to interact with other people and information on the Internet largely without anyone knowing who you were. The Internet of this century, conversely, will be defined by identity. Saunders explains how Internet users are unwittingly contributing to the demise of the anonymous Internet.
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The plan for unmanned police drones to patrol traffic and other city conditions in Seattle has sparked a new set of legal concerns about privacy. Law traditionally lags technology, but we can expect now to see a new round of activity in the courts as legal definitions begin to emerge on what "next-gen privacy" will look like.
Google is reportedly working on a pair of Android glasses that will use a low-resolution built-in camera to monitor the world in real time and overlay information about locations, surrounding buildings, and friends who might be nearby. Interested?
New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority is conducting a pilot test of digital kiosks to guide subway users to where they want to go more efficiently and at lower cost.
The whole Amazon.reader debate is a double-stupid. It's stupid to think that there's any e-book buyer who doesn't know Amazon's URL, and it was stupider to let ICANN launch the whole free-form TLD initiative to start with.
While NFC's original goal was to enhance mobile commerce applications, it is finding its way into a number of other uses, which is creating both opportunity as well as challenges for IT departments.
Enterprises would like to move to cloud computing but are hesitant because they are concerned about providers’ ability to secure company data. Here are some tips that help to ensure that if breaches occur, the business is not left holding the bag.
Edmunds separates customers into segments based on the info it collects on its site and from partners, and uses that to push out custom content, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
The automotive website uses propensity modeling to target ads and customer registration forms, said Brian Baron, director of business analytics for Edmunds.com, at Predictive Analytics Innovation Summit.
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M2M: Rise of the Machines? Not Yet David Weldon In the 1970 science fiction thriller Colossus: The Forbin Project, two giant supercomputers from the United States and Soviet Union secretly join forces to take control of the collective nuclear might of the two countries. In the film, the two machines discover each other's existence, communicate back-and-forth, share their collective data, and cut their human creators out of the process. It is the ultimate example of machine-to-machine communications, or M2M. CLICK FOR MORE
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