FTC Announces Agenda for Consumer Disclosure Workshop

FTC Disclosures Privacy/Cyber Risk & Data Security

On September 15, the FTC will host a workshop titled “Putting Disclosures to the Test” to examine the effectiveness of consumer disclosures. Scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., the full-day event will include an opening session devoted to how consumers process disclosures, and presentations on the following six topic areas: (i) methods and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness of disclosures; (ii) if and when consumers notice, read, or pay attention to disclosures; (iii) if consumers understand the information in disclosures; (iv) the impact of disclosures on consumers’ decisions and behavior; (v) case studies; and (vi) the future of disclosures, with emphasis on how to make them more efficient and effective. In addition to acknowledging the agency’s commitment to ensuring the use of effective, non-deceptive disclosures for advertisement purposes, the FTC highlighted the significance of effective disclosures in the privacy field and noted that it has “long encouraged the development and testing of shorter, clearer, easier-to-use privacy disclosures and consent mechanisms.”