States ask FTC to increase consumer data privacy protections

Privacy, Cyber Risk & Data Security State Issues FTC Consumer Protection State Attorney General

On November 17, the Massachusetts attorney general announced that a coalition of more than 30 state AGs sent a letter to the FTC urging the Commission to consider the heightened sensitivity around consumers’ medical data, biometric data, and location data, along with other dangers that arise from data brokers and the surveillance of consumers in response to the FTC’s August advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR). As previously covered by InfoBytes, in August the FTC announced the ANPR covering a wide range of concerns about commercial surveillance practices, specifically related to the business of collecting, analyzing, and profiting from information about individuals. In the letter, the AGs expressed that they share the FTC’s concern about “the alarming amount of sensitive consumer data that is amassed, manipulated, and monetized.” The AGs noted, among other things, that many consumers are not even aware that their location information is being collected, and when a consumer wishes to disable location sharing, their options are quite limited. The coalition also urged the FTC to consider the risks of commercial surveillance practices that use or facilitate the use of facial recognition, fingerprinting, or other biometric technologies. The letter stated that “consumers provide this information to companies for security purposes or personal pursuits, such as to learn about their ancestry,” but are not always aware of when and how their data is collected. The AGs emphasized the persistent dangers of data brokers, and warned that data brokers profile consumers by scouring their information and use it to create profiles of certain consumers who are susceptible to certain advertising or are likely to buy certain products. In regard to data minimization, the letter emphasized that it is “vital that the Commission consider data minimization requirements and limitations.” The AGs encouraged the FTC “to examine the approach taken in the California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia consumer privacy laws,” and further explained that “each statute mandates that businesses tie and limit the collection of personal data to what is ‘reasonably necessary’ in relation to specified purposes.”