Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, PRIVACY NEWS: Brill calls on lawmakers, technologists to champion privacy in Age of Omniscience, (Jan 30, 2015)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

In a keynote address presented at Carnegie Mellon University’s Privacy Day celebration on January 28, FTC Commissioner Julie Brill noted the real and significant benefits offered by the Internet of Things. However, her prepared remarks, entitled “It’s Getting Real: Privacy, Security, and Fairness by Design in the Internet of Things,” cautioned that privacy, in this “Age of Omniscience,” is vital to obtaining consumer trust, so that everyone can realize the full promise of the Internet of Things.

“I believe we can unlock the potential of Big Data and enjoy its benefits while still obeying the privacy principles that protect individuals—the same principles that we at the Federal Trade Commission have championed for many years through a combination of law enforcement and policy development,” Brill said.

The Commissioner began her discussion of privacy by noting that “there is no privacy without appropriate data security.” The first line of defense, according to Brill, is that companies need to ensure that their connected devices are secure, along with data gathered, compiled, and shared through the Internet of Things. “It is you, the technologists and engineers designing the next generation of connected devices, who we must count on to protect security by pumping it into the very heart of these products.”

She further echoed President Obama’s recent call on Congress to enact strong, flexible, and technology-neutral federal legislation to strengthen the Commission’s existing data security enforcement tools, and to provide notification to consumers in the event of a security breach. Specifically, Brill believes that such legislation should include the authority to issue rules and seek civil penalties from companies that violate the law; protect against unauthorized access to consumers’ personal information; and protect device functionality.

Sensitive data is another privacy challenge, according to Brill. “I frequently urge companies to recognize that individual control and transparency for personal information is an enduring expectation and a much broader concept than simply permitting or refusing information collection at one point in time.” She suggests that companies use immersive apps and websites to describe to consumers in simple terms the information that is being collected, and to give consumers meaningful choices concerning how any of their information can be used by other entities or people.

Commissioner Brill lastly discussed how the information data brokers collect are woven together into predictions about consumers’ personal behavior and characteristics and how they could contain inferences regarding consumers’ race, health conditions, and financial status. She suggested that baseline privacy legislation that instills transparency, access, and correction requirements could help address many of the underlying issues associated with data brokers. The Commissioner also noted that companies should provide consumers with tools that give them the opportunity to learn about their marketing profiles and provide them with the ability to make meaningful choices.

“As policymakers like me forge ahead to develop guidelines, best practices and legislative recommendations on how to secure consumers’ data and protect their privacy in this Age of Omniscience, we need you [to] figure out how to wire security and privacy into the devices and algorithms that will define this new age,” Brill said. “Engendering consumer trust in the Internet of Things will allow us all to realize its full promise. I’m confident that if we work together, we will achieve that goal.”

News: ConsumerProtection Privacy FederalTradeCommissionNews