LHC Global - Ad Law

US, 27 July 2010: FTC Chairman testifies before US Senate on FTC actions to protect consumer privacy

On 27 July, the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC) Chairman Jon Leibowitz spoke in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation about actions the FTC has taken to protect consumer privacy. The testimony focused on the FTC’s consumer privacy enforcement programme which covers data security, identity theft, children’s privacy, and protecting consumers from intrusive spam, spyware, and telemarketing. Recently, on 22 July, David Vladeck, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, also gave testimony before the U.S, House.

In the testimony, Chairman Leibowitz noted that in 2006 the FTC established the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, which is solely for privacy-related issues. The testimony was intended to highlight efforts taken by the FTC and its two main policy approaches: “(1) promoting the fair information practices of notice, choice, access, and security (the ‘FTC Fair Information Practices approach’); and (2) protecting consumers from specific and tangible privacy harms (the ‘harm-based approach’).” Chairman Leibowitz highlighted actions the FTC has taken against businesses which do not protect consumers As an example, recently the FTC brought 15 actions charging website operators with collecting information from children without their parents’ consent. The FTC also brought 64 actions against violators of the Do Not Call rule which resulted in violators paying nearly $18 million, including consumer redress.

Chairman Leibowitz also discussed the next steps the FTC will take which have emerged through its Privacy Roundtables project where members of industry and NGOs met to discuss privacy issues, especially in light of changing technologies. The main issues the FTC will be looking into are 1) integrating privacy into business practices, 2) simplifying choice and 3) improving transparency, for example through privacy policies.

Leibowitz said that the FTC looks forward to working with Congress to improve consumer privacy and plans to release a report on the Privacy Roundtables later in 2010.

Text of the Commission Testimony