• by Wendy Davis , September 4, 2009

The Federal Communications Commission should consider privacy issues raised by behavioral targeting when it crafts a national broadband plan. That's according to the Federal Trade Commission, which filed written comments about broadband with the FCC on Friday.

"A significant number of consumers appear to be particularly concerned about the tracking of their online activities for the purposes of, for example, delivering targeted advertisements. It appears consumers generally maintain these concerns even where the data collected is not personally identifiable," the FTC said in its 17-page comments.

Referring to deep-packet inspection, the FTC said that new technology allows providers to "track a consumer's online activities to deliver targeted advertisements" while also allowing providers to "advantage or disadvantage certain content or applications."

"These practices have the potential to benefit consumers, but also pose some risks," the FTC stated.

The agency called on the FCC to gather information about such use of technology and determine its impact on consumers and competition. Last year, NebuAd attempted to purchase information about people's Web activity from their Internet service providers in order to serve targeted ads. But a Congressional investigation into the privacy issues raised by that business model drove the company out of business.

The FTC also urged that the broadband plan should "maximize incentives for businesses to enter, deploy risk capital, and compete for customers, keeping barriers to entry as low as possible."