Hello! It’s Dan Clarke, president of Truyo with a privacy update. On August 11, 2022, the FTC issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to “crack down on harmful commercial surveillance” and lax data security. The FTC goes on to define “commercial surveillance” as “the collection, aggregation, analysis, retention, transfer, or monetization of consumer data and the direct derivatives of that information.” wow. They have not yet released any rules for public comment, but rather comment on what harm has resulted from this invasive commercial surveillance. wow again. 

Chair Lina Khan has previously voiced her concerns about “today’s surveillance economy,” this move not only sets the stage for potential Mag-Moss rulemaking but could it all be a way for the FTC to persuade a hesitant and divided legislature into passing comprehensive data privacy legislation? What does this all mean for a business?? How does this play with the proposed Federal legislation? how can a business continue with acceptable utilization of data that is neutral or even beneficial to a consumer while avoiding legitimate surveillance concerns? It probably lies in properly informed consent along with notice, anonymization, and of course proper security while respecting the rights of consumers,  especially what is at the core of all privacy legislation seems to be the core motivation to regulate businesses that are “collecting, analyzing, and profiting from information about people.” Join us for the first webinar in a 3 part series featuring Jon Leibowitz, former FTC Chair on proposed federal legislation, how it could meld with mag-moss rulemaking, and what it means for businesses. 

So what’s next? The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced a public forum to be held on September 8th for a discussion of the organization’s proposed privacy and data security rulemaking and for gathering public feedback. Over the course of the event, comments will be made by FTC Chair Lina Khan, Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, and others. The event schedule includes a presentation of the agency plan, panels for industry and advocate perspectives, and a session for getting input from the general public. We’ll be back with a Privacy Digest of the forum in September