A press release issued in the beginning of December 2010 by the FTC announced its proposed “Do Not Track” policy governing the use of cookies – little packets of text sent back and forth between a web browser and the server it accesses to collect web browser user information. Just like the consumer opt-out “Do Not Call,” the proposal is intended to give consumers the right to block cookies that collect information that is used to profile them for the purpose of ad targeting and other uses not specified.
FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz stated that “the FTC wants to help ensure that the growing, changing, thriving information marketplace is built on a framework that promotes privacy, transparency, business innovation and consumer choice. We believe that’s what most Americans want as well… This proposal is intended to inform policymakers, including Congress, as they develop solutions, policies, and potential laws governing privacy, and guide and motivate industry as it develops more robust and effective best practices and self-regulatory guidelines.”
Considered a misnomer, the “Do Not Track” proposal (read Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change) is really raising a number of questions for which it is seeking comment. For example: “One question is whether there are practical considerations that support excluding certain types of companies or businesses from the framework – for example, businesses that collect, maintain, or use a limited amount of non-sensitive consumer data.” This would include Google Analytics. As Google explains, “Google Analytics tracking (and most web tracking software) uses cookies in order to provide meaningful reports about your site visitors. However, Google Analytics cookies do not collect personal data about your website visitors.”
The fact of the matter is there is a prevailing theme within the proposed “Do Not Track” policy and it all stems from the notion of one’s Right to Privacy. The report includes recommendations to improve the transparency of information collection practices, including ways that enable the public to compare information practices of competing companies. The leading web browsers including Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft IE9, have each taken their own approach to providing users with the ability to block, all or certain types, of cookies.
The “Do Not Track” proposal is a wake-up call to the industry that consumers want to be in charge. The FTC is seeking to “guide and motivate industry as it develops more robust and effective best practices and self-regulatory guidelines.” As AdAge pointed out, “A Do Not Track law could only be enacted by Congress, suggesting that this report is an appeal to whichever party — industry or Congress — will act more quickly.”
The FTC is really looking to each business to put into place practices that demonstrate to consumers what they are doing to protect them. In a nutshell, here’s what they expect:
- Let them see the data you are collecting
- Let them opt-out of your ability to collect all or some of that data
- Tell them how you will use the data
- Respect their right to not receive unsolicited communications from you
- Give them a way to choose to receive communications with you
We are in the Age of the Consumer. They have more control now then they have had in the past and they are exercising it with the support of some pretty powerful backers like the FTC. It is important to recognize this and do what is necessary to ensure consumers that their interests, particularly privacy and security, are being carefully protected.
