The Federal Trade Commission announced today it is moving forward with privacy rulemaking to address the issue of excessive data collection and use of personal information. Consumer Reports has long supported this regulatory approach as a solution for protecting the privacy of all Americans in the absence of a federal privacy law.
Last year, CR joined over 40 organizations calling on the Commission to issue a privacy rulemaking. Earlier this year, CR and the Electronic Privacy Information Center provided a roadmap for how the FTC could issue privacy rules under its unfair practices authority.
Justin Brookman, Director of Technology Policy at Consumer Reports, said, “This FTC announcement is a critical step for providing baseline privacy protections for all Americans. While we continue to support federal and state efforts to enact and enforce comprehensive privacy legislation, consumers can wait no longer to have their personal information protected. The FTC has the authority to issue clear rules to safeguard personal data by holding companies accountable for unwanted data collection, use, and disclosure. We encourage them to use that authority to protect American consumers.”
Contact: Cyrus Rassool, cyrus.rassool@consumer.org