Commissioner Says FTC Is Not Ready to Advise on Do-Not-Track

August 23, 2011 Source: ClickZ News

Although there seems to be little progress from the government on any privacy legislation, FTC commission member Rosch seems to think there could be a conflict of interest with self-regulation initiatives.

 

Federal Trade Commission member J. Thomas Rosch expressed skepticism about self-regulatory initiatives and said the agency is not yet ready to endorse a do-not-track mechanism or advise Congress on privacy legislation.

Rosch, a Republican appointed by President George W. Bush, spoke yesterday at the Technology Policy Institute conference in Aspen, CO. As reported yesterday by CNET's Declan McCullagh, the commissioner said the FTC should gather more information about tracking practices of ad networks and other online ad firms before endorsing a do-not-track mechanism, or anything else designed to help consumers protect their privacy online.

In a phone interview with ClickZ News later in the day, Rosch (left) indicated dissatisfaction with the ad industry's self-regulatory approach to privacy. "Basically, I'm skeptical about self-regulatory initiatives, not only from an antitrust standpoint...I don’t think the self-regulatory process ought to be even potentially captive to large entities or firms" with vested interested in excluding competitors, he continued.

Read the full article at: 
ClickZ
Rocket Fuel