On February 23rd, the White House unveiled the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, which seeks to give people more control over their personal data online. The Bill of Rights is an industry-wide agreement developed by the White House, FTC, Commerce Department and Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) (which represents over ninety percent of the U.S. online advertising industry). The “rights” in the agreement include:
- Individual Control: The right to exercise control of what personal data companies collect and how that data is used
- Transparency: The right to easily understandable and accessible privacy policy information
- Respect for Context: The right that companies will only use personal data consistent with the context in which users provide the data
- Security: The right to secure management of personal data
- Access and Accuracy: The right to access and edit personal data
- Focused Collection: The right to limit the collection and retention of personal data
- Accountability: The right that companies adhere to the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights
The White House will encourage all stakeholders (including browser manufacturers, advertising networks and websites) to respect these rights; it will also work with Congress to enact legislation that enforces the rights.
Do Not Track
One way that the agreement seeks to protect privacy rights is by requiring browser makers to implement an easy-to-use Do Not Track feature. Websites and advertising networks must honor Do Not Track by not tracking users who’ve opted out of tracking via their browsers. However, there’s still an open question as to exactly what qualifies as “tracking,” and the DAA, FTC and Commerce Department will have to work through this in the coming months. For instance, Google has stated that Do Not Track will impact “some aspects of tailored advertising” but will not affect signed-in users who’ve requested personalization.
