Wired takes the FTC to the woodshed.
Forbes columnist brings out some counter arguments. Kinda. I don’t think it’s much of a defense. More of an apology piece, e.g., part of the problem is that the FTC doesn’t have the right laws. It sounds as if she is saying the FTC is toothless, but it’s the parents’ (government’s) fault for not taking the FTC to the dentist when it was young.
Time for dentures?
While this case clearly raises more questions than it delivers answers, it’s essential to appreciate that Chitika’s conduct was deemed deceptive by the FTC, not because it failed to offer a more robust opt-out program to consumers, but because it led consumers to believe they had opted-out permanently, when in reality it was for just 10 days at a time. Although players within the online behavioral advertising ecosystem should begin to look carefully for trends and whispers of best practices according to the FTC, these are not simple issues, and the privacy landscape is getting considerably more complicated and complex. Between proposed federal and state legislation, governmental agency policies and positions, and the DAA’s self-regulatory program taking shape, advertisers, ad networks and agencies alike should be increasingly turning to their privacy officers and legal counsel on these kinds of matters before they run afoul and become the next FTC test case.