• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, February 22, 2012

Difficult (and inciting) as it may be, consumer advocates and private interests are determined to shed more light on marketers’ data tracking practices. “Consumer education” is the name of the game, according to Christopher Olsen, Assistant Director, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, Federal Trade Commission. Sitting on a privacy panel at OMMA Data, Olsen alluded to a growing group of companies that give consumer access to their data “buckets,” which they can then modify, or “opt out” of entirely.

The Council of Better Business Bureaus is currently working on efforts to educate consumers, according to Genie Barton, Vice President and Director, Online Interest-Based Advertising Accountability Program & Mobile Marketing Initiatives. “There is a week coming up when we are going to try to educate consumers.”