FTC Focuses on Behavioral Advertising

In early November, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) held a two-day public meeting on the use of behavioral advertising on the Internet. Representatives from consumer groups and online businesses, such as Yahoo and Facebook, debated the benefits and potential harm in the use of cookies, and whether or not current privacy disclosures are clear and conspicuous. While FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz expressed at the hearing that the collection of consumer behavior information is problematic, he did not indicate the agency is planning on regulating the practice.
 
A coalition of consumer groups filed comments during the proceedings, urging the FTC to create a registry, similar to the do-not-call list. This do-no-track registry would allow consumers to opt-out of having their online activity tracked.

First Published:
November 30, 2007