FTC Commissioner Sees "Daunting Task" in Regulating Online Advertising

At recent US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) public hearings, one of the Commissioners, Thomas Rosch, predicted that the rapid growth of e-commerce will make it difficult for the FTC to monitor online advertising for false or misleading claims. Rosch made the comment as the FTC was in the midst of a three-day series of public hearings, called "Protecting Consumers in the Next Tech-Ade," at George Washington University. According to Rosch, the extraordinary volume of online advertisements in a growing media universe will make it a "daunting task" for FTC staff to monitor those ads for unsubstantiated claims. The Commissioner stated that while federal regulators will continue to use their powers to pursue deceptive Internet advertisers, companies also have an important role to play in dealing with consumer protection issues through self-regulatory initiatives, or participating in FTC consumer education efforts. At the hearings, advertising and marketing firms agreed that companies will be using more sophisticated ways to communicate their messages, such as behavioural targeting in which anonymous web browsing patterns are analyzed to tailor messages to specific audiences. Privacy advocates are concerned that companies which develop detailed consumer profiles could divulge private consumer information. Two privacy organizations recently asked the FTC to create new rules that would require companies to obtain explicit consumer consent before collecting any information about them. A family advocacy group also asked the FTC to investigate the practices of word-of-mouth marketers who don't always identify the companies that they are working for. For a recent news article on the topic, see: http://news.com.com/2100-1024_3-6133250.html Summary by: Andrei Edwards