Even without a federal privacy law, it looks like the Federal Trade Commission is getting involved. According to the Wall Street Journal, they are expected to begin writing federal rules to expand online privacy protections as soon as today. If adopted, the rules could impose significant new responsibilities on businesses that handle consumer data, including potentially barring certain kinds of data collection practices, the people said. Legislation isn’t dead either – it’s just unclear if the votes are there this session.
Diving into that, the Record highlights that the negotiations alone may be important, as they have gained bipartisan support.
Why do we care?
I keep thinking, “something’s got to change,” and it seems the FTC may be the group to start work. The bipartisan support of the negotiations alone should indicate that rule-setting by the FTC won’t be controversial.
This means those of us tracking rules for data should note the FTC as a significant player to watch.