Google, tech, and telcos agree: agency collaboration needed on consumer privacy

For those who have not been following the issue, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) broadband privacy proceeding has been contentious to say the least. While many, if not all, privacy advocates agree that greater consumer protections are needed online, the FCC’s questionable approach to the matter has left experts, academics, and policy wonks stunned.

As I highlighted earlier this year, as originally crafted, the FCC’s proposed rules not only confuse consumers when it comes to privacy online, but they also fail when it comes to actually protecting consumers from the threat of unwarranted data collection.                                

{mosads}Rife with confusion, convolution, and drawn-out posting delays on the Commission’s website, the broadband privacy proceeding has been screaming for an intervention since it began.

It appears, however, at long last the Commission has had enough.

After over a year’s worth of debate and comment, the FCC appears ready to look to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for a clear path forward on consumer privacy protections online.

This type of interagency collaboration is a welcomed development in our increasingly “siloed” world. Good governance depends on information gathering, empirical studies, and a quest for sound expertise on the issues. In this regard, there’s no debating why the FCC must look to the FTC since the agency has been a champion on consumer privacy protections in this arena for decades.

Just earlier this year, for example, the FTC fined small mobile advertising company InMobi almost $1 million for illegally collecting location data from hundreds of millions of consumers, including young children. Countless cases similar to this one have been brought over the years and showcase the FTC’s specialized enforcement abilities when it comes to curbing nefarious data collection for consumers – exactly what the FCC should look to emulate in its rules.

Calls for a privacy solution based upon the FTC’s approach have been numerous since the FCC’s privacy docket began receiving comment. Most notably absent in the public foray, however, has been tech giant and online advertising champion Google. Until this week that is.

This week, Google came out with a public letter in support of the FCC taking heed of the FTC’s approach on broadband privacy. They argued, “A healthy Internet depends on safeguarding consumers’ trust and meeting their expectations. The time-tested privacy approach of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has worked well in establishing this framework and we urge the Federal Communications Commission to use it as a basis for whatever privacy rules it adopts.”

This revelation is no surprise as the Internet Association – a group consisting of companies like Google, AirBnB, eBay, Snapchat, and Facebook – echoed similar comments several months ago.

Simply put, as outlined in Google’s public comments and dozens of others, the FCC should do its job and protect consumers with sensible broadband privacy rules. An approach based upon the FTC’s proven know-how strikes the perfect balance between facilitating an environment for innovative business models in a thriving online advertising industry and incorporating what actually works in protecting consumers.

John Celock is the Executive Director of 21st Century Consumers, an advocacy organization focused on the interests of consumers using emerging technologies for goods and services.