On the heels of last week’s release of a proposed consumer privacy report by the FTC, a group of businesses that track online behavior announced that they will give consumers access to information collected about their interests. The Open Data Partnership will also allow consumers to edit this online profile information.
This service, which will launch in January, moves participating businesses in the direction of one of the FTC’s recommended privacy-by-design features. In last week’s proposed report, the FTC admonished that “companies should take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the data they collect.” Providing consumers access to and a means to edit collected information may enhance accuracy.
The announcement of the Open Data Partnership arrived the same week as the FTC’s proposed report, as well as a hearing on “Do Not Track” proposals held by the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection.