Fed Considers Crackdown on Data Collection by Tech Companies

All of this has created mountains of personal data for giant tech companies, including the latest kid-friendly fads that are circulating in the Internet.

How that data is used and protected has led to growing concern and outrage from parents and stakeholders. We are considering drafting rules to crack down on what we call "commercial surveillance."

The Federal Trade Commission announced on Thursday the impact of corporate data collection and the potential for new rules to protect consumer privacy. Announced an initiative to seek public comment on benefits.

The FTC defines commercial surveillance as "collecting, analyzing and profiting from information about people."

"Our country is the undisputed world leader in technology. But we are the only ones lacking protection," his FTC commissioner Alvaro Bedoya said Thursday. told reporters.

The United States has never had a federal privacy law. But bipartisan congressional accusations of the data power of Facebook parent company Meta, Google, and other tech giants in aggregating consumer information used by online advertisers have come in the form of America's Data Privacy Act. , brought the National Data Privacy Act the closest ever to passage. and protection law.

Across the country, parents are increasingly concerned about the impact of social media on their children. Frances Haugen, a former data scientist at Facebook,last fallintroduced an internal data scientist demonstrating that Instagram was clearly causing serious harm to her teenage girl. The investigation was made public, surprising Congress and the public. Following her revelations, the senator urged YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat executives to ensure the safety of young users following suicide and other harm tochildren and teens. When asked about what they do to help parents attribute their use of social media platforms.

FTC Democrats said Thursday it was imperative that Congress pass new legislation, but officials had taken action in the meantime by issuing notices of the proposed rule.

"Massive surveillance increases the risk and exposure of data breaches, deception, tampering and other exploits," the FTC said.

Case-by-case enforcement

Over the past 20 years, the FTC has taken hundreds of enforcement actions against companies for breaches of privacy and data security, officials said. said the person. Sharing of health-related data with third parties, collection and sharing of sensitive television viewing data for targeted advertising, and It includes negligence of security measures. Sensitive data such as social security numbers.

However, the FTC's powers are limited. That's because the FTC generally doesn't have the authority to seek financial penalties when a company breaks the law for the first time, officials said. Things could change if a comprehensive privacy law passes Congress.

"Companies are now collecting personal data about individuals on a large scale and in a staggering variety of settings," her FTC chairman Lina Khan told reporters. "Our goal today is to inform whether the FTC should issue rules to address commercial surveillance and data security practices, and what those rules might look like.

"We are very eager to hear from the public," Khan said.

Topics of interest include how companies use algorithms and automated systems to analyze the information they collect, and the potential impact of different data practices.

Khan, an outspoken critic of big tech as a law professor, last year was appointed by President Joe Biden to head the FTC, an independent body that polices competition, consumer protection and digital privacy. was done. The

rulemaking proposal was adopted in his 3-2 vote by five of his FTC commissioners. Khan and his two other Democrats voted for the bill's issuance, while two Republicans opposed it.