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FTC Privacy Proposals Hit Resistance

Retailers question guidelines for regulating the gathering of information on consumers' online behavior.

By Marita Thomas | Updated on May 12, 2008

The volume of information Internet companies gather about consumers has long raised concerns over privacy. The data is collected under the umbrella of “behavioral advertising.” Equipped with information on what searches consumers have used, what websites they have visited, the content they accessed and much more, web companies can charge to deliver ads to individual consumer’s particular interests.

After a decade of investigating online privacy issues, the Federal Trade Commission has proposed voluntary guidelines designed to give consumers more visibility into the behavioral advertising process. In proposing this industry self-regulation, the FTC’s four primary concerns and suggested remedies are, in summary:

·Greater transparency and consumer control. Websites that collect data for behavioral advertising should provide a clear, prominent statement that the information is being collected to provide ads targeted to the consumer and allow the consumer to opt out.

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