• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, April 3, 2023

Privacy regulations could benefit companies by making clear the type of data collection and harvesting the agency considers unfair, Federal Trade Commissioner (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter suggested Monday.

Speaking at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's public policy and legal summit, Slaughter defended the agency's controversial decision to initiate a process that could result in new regulations, saying that “clearly communicated rules” offer more certainty for businesses than the current case-by-case approach.

Currently, companies that want to predict how the FTC will evaluate a business practice can examine prior enforcement actions -- such as the recent cases against GoodRx and Kochava -- she said in a "fireside chat" with Jules Polonetsky, CEO of the think tank Future of Privacy Forum.

Rules, however, could offer more certainty than attempting to make predictions based on the FTC's stance in lawsuits against particular companies, she said.

Slaughter also said the FTC's decision to seek input from the public about potential privacy rules creates a substantive record on current practices.

“The FTC can't take action based on vibes,” she said. “We have to take action based on a substantive record in front of us.”

Slaughter additionally she was “skeptical” of the current notice-and-choice approach to privacy, which broadly involves informing consumers about data collection and allowing them to opt out of receiving targeted ads.

She cited the number of choices required throughout the day, and “the ability of people to understand all the things they might be assenting to,” as reasons for skepticism, adding that a preferable approach to notice-and-choice might involve limitations on data collection, use and retention.