FTC promises to crack down on companies lying about ‘anonymized’ user data
The Federal Trade Commission said it intends to crack down on companies that lie about anonymizing data collected from users.
The agency said on Monday that it intends to take additional action to protect user data against illegal use, including by companies that claim to protect user data and fail to do so. The warning arrived days after President Joe Biden signed an executive order protecting access to abortion that included protection for abortion-related data.
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“Companies may try to placate consumers’ privacy concerns by claiming they anonymize or aggregate data,” said Kristin Cohen, the acting associate director for the agency’s privacy division, in a blog post. “Firms making claims about anonymization should be on guard that these claims can be a deceptive trade practice and violate the FTC Act when untrue. Significant research has shown that ‘anonymized’ data can often be re-identified, especially in the context of location data.”
Cohen noted that sensitive data are protected by several state and federal laws. She also pointed out that data brokers can often use much of the anonymized data to expose personal activities, especially if combined with data from other companies or data brokers. “These companies often build profiles about consumers and draw inferences about them based on the places they have visited,” Cohen said. “The amount of information they collect is staggering.”
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The agency has brought several cases against companies for breaching the privacy of users’ personal information. The director pointed to recent settlements, including ad exchange OpenX paying a $2 million fee for collecting children’s information and Weight Watchers indefinitely holding on to user data.
This data collection enforcement arises after Democratic lawmakers asked the FTC to investigate Google’s and Apple’s collection of abortion-related data. Abortion rights advocates have expressed concerns that private data could be used to identify women who have had an abortion and penalize them for it. These concerns have led companies like Google to delete location data for users who visit abortion clinics or fertility centers.
