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RSSLast Wednesday two consumer groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The groups want the FTC to investigate "invasive and deceptive" online advertising practices. This includes user tracking, Web analytics and behavioral targeting. They claim that users don't know we are tracking them.
What do you think? I did a quick poll of friends and family outside the industry. No one knew they were being tracked. When I told them what we use and how we use it, their initial reaction was that it was "cool." However, after a moment of thinking about it, they all asked if I could track them. This was a tough question to answer.
Quite frankly, I'm surprised the complaint, made by the Center for Digital Democracy and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, hasn't gotten much traction yet. Although I tend to cringe when these things come out, the issue needs to be talked about.
Is it so bad that these groups are asking for more stringent privacy policies? Well I certainly don't think it is out of the question--especially with identity theft on the rise.
According to FTC findings, identity theft complaints represented 37% of the 686,683 complaints filed last year--and Internet-related complaints accounted for 46% of all fraud complaints.
So back to the complaint. The bottom line, according to these groups, is that users do not know that they are being tracked, how they are being tracked, and what information regarding their Web surfing habits is out there. It's ironic; clients always want to know what we can track. They'd like to know anything and everything about their target audience, customers and prospects, whereas (most) users don't want to be tracked at all. Meanwhile, we want to track, report and optimize traffic as well as unique users.
These groups say tracking and analytics companies fail to disclose what type of personal data they are collecting.
Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, noted in a statement, "The FTC should long ago have sounded a very public alarm--and called for action--concerning the data collection practices stemming from such fields as Web analytics, online advertising networks, behavioral targeting, and rich 'virtual reality' media, all of which threaten the privacy of the U.S. public."
Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), the senior member of the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee and co-chair of the Bipartisan Privacy Caucus, likewise commended the consumer groups, noting that "The surreptitious gathering of personal information from consumers is an unfair business practice and consumers are right to petition the Commission to examine and investigate such practices. Where and when a consumer surfs on the Internet goes to the heart of personal freedom and I have long advocated for common-sense rules to be put in place so that consumers have knowledge about these practices and effective mechanisms to control the privacy of their personal information and Web use."
So the big question is, do you support the investigation into these practices or not? If so, why? Are these groups taking it too far? If so, how can we offer a better solution? Post your rants and raves on the Spin blog--two-way mirrored or not!
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With the Internet, I believe it's different. It's not purely a retail environment, so it's much harder to just opt out of it. I don't mind that Amazon or ebay track me (since I did register with them), because they offer me a more customized shopping experience. But I don't expect the same thing from social networking, news, spirituality and other sites I visit.
I support the investigation as a consumer protection. Government is supposed to operate in the open (and you can request any and all records any government agency collects on your surfing habits under FOI), and I think business should offer us the same protections. As with any other tracking, we should have the ability to opt out if we don't want to be tracked, without having to give up our social networks, various news sources and other tools that enrich our lives beyond buying and selling.
PIRG and the Center for Digital Democracy aren't off base. People should know exactly what information is being collected, how it is being used, and how they are being identified - especially if they're not being asked to fill out the information in some kind of a form. It's one thing if I willingly tell you I'm a white male, 35-54, etc. It's another if you capture my address and aggregate information about my behavior coming to, while on, and leaving your site - or even more than that. It's also another thing if I have to go to the teeny-tiny print buried deep in a website to find out what it is you are collecting and don't have a way to opt out of that collection other than not visiting your site.
My consumer heart holds out hope of a micro-payment system that compensates me for spending time on your site when you are collecting data about me - and for macro payments if you sell that information to others. My marketer's heart shudders at both thoughts even though I'm not collecting much data through my site right now and wouldn't dream of selling what I do collect to anyone else - even if I could.
If I had to decide, I'd err toward the consumer side. Long before there was an Internet or the kind of data collection we are ccapable of today successful brands were created, products marketed, and profits made.
Don't you know Google is God and all-knowing and all-seeing and does no evil? So what can the the FTC do?