FTC Update on Gathering Data; Disclosures To Consumers

Following an active 2012, during which it issued an important privacy report and announced significant and groundbreaking privacy settlements with Google, online data broker Spokeo and social media giant Facebook, the FTC continued its focus on privacy, in 2013 bringing additional actions against other data brokers and companies that experienced data breaches.

With regard to data brokers, newly appointed FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez cautioned companies that collect large quantities of consumer data that the agency intends to closely scrutinize those companies' data security measures to ensure that the massive amounts of consumer information they collect are properly protected against unauthorized access. She echoed these warnings in a keynote address at the Technology Policy Institute's annual conference in Aspen, CO, where she expressed concerns about the private sector's increasing collection and use of “big data,” or datasets whose size is beyond the ability of typical database software tools to capture, store, manage and analyze. The FTC also continued its call for legislation in this area, citing the lack of transparency with which such data-gathering companies operate.