Online Marketing Practices Continue to Pose Regulatory Threats for the Financial Services Industry

This cross-device tracking enables online behavioral advertising to be coordinated across a user's various devices such as smartphones, tablets, computers, game consoles and Internet-connected televisions. Using both behavioral advertising and cross-device tracking has grown since the release of the FTC study and shows no signs of stopping in 2018.

Within the guidance, the FTC acknowledges the benefits of both behavioral and cross-device tracking, but remains concerned with the privacy and consumer protection challenges raised by these systems. On the one hand, the FTC cites the benefits of a seamless experience for consumers across their devices, such as when they check email, read a book or watch a movie.
Cross-device tracking also enables improved fraud detection and account security by providing companies with more options to protect a consumer by identifying a new device and requiring authentication through a known device. On the other hand, however, the FTC raises concerns over consumer transparency with the technology, particularly given that the scope of cross-device technology in this space is not understood by a majority of the public.