Effective Regulators, Effective Privacy Choices

[Commentary] In the upcoming months, as the Federal Communications Commission examines extending the privacy rules enabled by its recent broadband reclassification, it will need to decide the role it can play in setting rules for data use by Internet service providers. The FCC’s ability to impact the consumer experience in the online ecosystem will be less significant than the Federal Trade Commission’s, since its efforts will be limited to the tracking enabled by ISPs which are only one of many technologies and business models involved. The FTC has been highly effective by basing its enforcement on the standard of whether companies are acting deceptively or unfairly. The FCC should study how consumers are protected online by a long series of FTC enforcement actions and adopt a consistent model that allows the two agencies to collaborate effectively. When it comes to the complicated ad tech ecosystem, what consumers need is regulators and technology solutions that work together to ensure easy to use and effective choices and cross-industry standards that are logical.

[Jules Polonetsky is executive director and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, a think tank committed to advancing responsible data practices]