federal trade commission

The FTCannounced yesterday a settlement with Epic Marketplace, an online advertising network, which prohibits Epic from further collection of data obtained by “browser sniffing” the surfing history of Internet users and requires Epic to destroy all previously collected data. The FTC did NOT ban “browser sniffing.”
Continue Reading FTC “History Sniffing” Settlement Meaningless or the Start of Something Bigger

According to a press release issued yesterday, November 29, 2011, by the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook settled charges that Facebook “deceived consumers by telling them they could keep their information on Facebook private, and then repeatedly allowing it to be shared and made public.”
Continue Reading FTC Settles With Facebook, Agrees to Whopping 20-Year Consent Order

A standing room meeting organized by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in Washington on Monday, December 7th, highlighted a crucial divide in the discussion over the regulation of online privacy. The New York Times provides an excellent summary of the mainstream newsworthy aspects of the meeting.

While the take away may be that the FTC is taking a more serious look at online privacy and net neutrality, the reality is that any oversight is not going to happen anytime soon. Not anytime soon as in years, if ever. Policy making as the solution is not going to address any immediate concerns or problems.

What may be of more interest is the deep divide between the parties with a vested interest in the outcome of the discussion, namely, the consumer/consumer advocates and parties making money from information that may one day be regulated.
Continue Reading Online Privacy Regulation Comes Front and Center at FTC, and Will Quickly Fade