As your Internet lawyer can tell you, when the FTC speaks, you better listen. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has just issued a privacy report with its recommendations for enforcing and changing privacy laws to protect visitors to websites like yours.
In addition to the report, the FTC chairman said that the government agency “will take action against companies that cross the line with consumer data and violate consumers’ privacy – especially when children and teens are involved.”
Remember that the FTC can go after both U.S. and non-U.S. website owners whose sites have visitors/clients that live in the United States.
Here are three of the key things about the new Federal Trade Commission privacy report you should know…
1. The FTC wants Internet browsers (Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, etc.) to have a do-not-track feature built in so that users can by default block data collection and tracking of their website viewing habits.
2. The FTC wants website privacy policies to be clear, short, and standardized, to make it easy for your website visitors to understand what your privacy practices are.
3. The FTC believes you should provide reasonable access to any consumer data you maintain. This seems similar to California’s existing requirements on the issue.
Stay tuned. Expect more changes because website privacy is a hot issue. And if you have any questions about the report and how it affects your online business, talk with your Internet lawyer.
To your online success!
-Mike the Internet lawyer
