Supreme Court shows the way on privacy regulations

[Commentary] In a recent 6-2 decision, the Supreme Court struck a blow for a more rational and consumer-friendly privacy regime by coming down in favor of a "harms-based approach." Although the opinion focused on standing rather than regulatory policy, agencies that enforce privacy regulations, such as the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) — the latter of which has proposed major new privacy regulations for internet service providers (ISPs) — should take a lesson from the Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins decision.

The Spokeo case involved a complaint under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, where the plaintiff alleged that the information in his Spokeo profile was not accurate. Spokeo, according to its website, is a "people search engine that organizes white pages information, public records, and social network information into simple profiles to help you safely find and learn about people." The FCC, in its pending proposal to limit data collection by ISPs without evidence of consumer harm, is taking precisely the wrong approach and not heeding the suggestions of the Supreme Court and the White House. This is a recipe for regulation that will impose costs on consumers without corresponding benefits.

[Lenard is president and senior fellow at the Technology Policy Institute.]