Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONFERENCES: FTC announces agenda for mobile device tracking seminar, (Feb 13, 2014)

The FTC has announced the agenda for the first event in its spring privacy series on emerging consumer privacy issues. The seminar will be held on February 19 in Washington, D.C. and explore mobile device tracking—that is, the tracking of consumers in retail and other businesses using signals from their mobile devices. With businesses tracking consumers’ movements throughout and around retail stores, the FTC is exploring potential privacy concerns and questions about these practices.

The Commission’s Chief Technologist Latanya Sweeney will conduct a mobile location tracking demonstration before and immediately following the seminar. Ashkan Soltani, independent researcher and consultant, will provide a technical overview. The seminar moderators are attorneys Amanda Koulousias and Kristen Anderson of the FTC Division of Privacy and Identity Protection. Other panelists scheduled to appear include representatives from the National Retail Federation, iInside, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Mexia Interactive, and Create with Context.

The two-hour seminar, free and open to the public, will be held at the FTC Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., and be webcast on the FTC’s site. The seminar will feature perspectives from academics, business and industry representatives, and consumer advocates. The FTC invites live webcast viewers to submit questions to moderators online. FTC staff will live-tweet the seminar and take questions via Twitter, Facebook, and email.

News: Conferences ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews