A number of trade and advertising organisations in the US have launched the new “Privacy for America” coalition. The idea is for industry to come up with voluntary rules that would protect personal data and privacy on a national basis. The policy would put rule-making back in the hands of companies and make them softer than the more stringent ones passed in California, in June of last year, for example.
As one of the founding partners, the Interactive Advertising Bureau said the coalition will work with Congress to set up the voluntary rules. Other members of the steering committee include the 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies), ANA (Association of National Advertisers), and NAI (Network Advertising Initiative). The coalition will also have guidance from advisors such as Stuart Ingis, co-chair of Venable LLP’s eCommerce, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Group, and Jessica Rich, former director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
The US government started working on national consumer data rules in September, with the US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration opening a public consultation. The agency said its proposal was designed to protect individuals but still give room for companies to innovate. More recently, Cisco called on the government to pass a general data privacy law, saying the current US legal framework was inadequate and that also US competitiveness was suffering as a result. The Internet Association also called for a new national policy.
Use of data and advertising
The Privacy for America coalition is proposing a number of rules and. It wants to prohibit a range of specific data practices, such as using a person’s data to deny them a job, credit or healthcare, or for race or colour to discriminate against a person in setting prices or determining eligibility for products or services. Facebook was recently charged with discrimination for these kind of practices, in its housing ads. There will be rules about sharing consumer data with third parties without enforceable contracts to ensure a "lawful" use of the data.
There would be limits on how data can be used for advertising, including banning certain types of data from being collected and used for advertising, limiting the purposes for which advertising data may be used, and allowing consumers to identify their preferences regarding what advertising they do or do not wish to receive.
New Data Protection Bureau
The Privacy for America coalition also wants to create a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Data Protection Bureau, so that the commission has more rulemaking power and so that it can it fine companies violating rules.
Protection against breaches
Finally, there would be strong data security protections to guard against data breaches.
