4As Submits Comments to FTC’s Initial Data Privacy Rulemaking

On November 21, the 4As submitted a written comment letter to the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) initial rulemaking on consumer data privacy. The 4As written comments focused on 1) pushing back against the FTC’s preconceived notion that all commercial data practices (even by responsible commercial entities that promote consumer choice) are “commercial surveillance;” 2) the economic and competition value of digital advertising; and 3) the FTC’s need to balance any new privacy regulations against the significant consumer benefits of free data flows. 

The 4As comments also emphasized our alignment with the robust written comments submitted by the Privacy for America coalition, a large group of digital advertising trades and companies who support the enactment of preemptive, federal privacy legislation that preserves responsible commercial use of data and promotes consumer choice. The 4As is a founding member of the Privacy for America coalition.

The FTC’s ANPRM includes a list of 95 questions (some with subparts) on topics including:

• Privacy Protections for Children and Teens
• Restrictions on Targeted Behavioral Advertising
• Significant Restrictions on Data Processing
• Data Security
• Biometric Information
• Algorithms and Algorithmic Discrimination

A more detailed summary of the FTC privacy rulemaking can be found here. 

The ANPRM, which the FTC approved on a 3-2 party-line vote, is the initial step in a process that could result in the adoption of the first major federal regulation addressing privacy, data security, and algorithmic discrimination across broad sectors of the U.S. economy. 

The FTC first indicated in December 2021 that it intended to initiate this rulemaking to “curb[] lax security practices, limit[] intrusive surveillance, and ensur[e] that algorithmic decision-making does not result in unlawful discrimination”, after a formal request for rulemaking petition was filed by thinktank Accountable Tech. 

The FTC cited its rulemaking authority under Section 18 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 57a, AKA Magnuson-Moss. The FTC’s rulemaking procedures include a number of specific requirements, including publication of an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking, notice of proposed rulemaking, informal hearings, and a judicial review period that, collectively, have caused most Magnuson-Moss rulemakings to take years to complete. We’d expect the FTC’s privacy rulemaking to be no different.

For more information about the ANPRM, please read this fact sheet released by the FTC. 

Have questions about the 4As comments submitted to the FTC ANPRM privacy rulemaking? Please contact Alison Pepper, EVP of Government Relations and Sustainability.