A bipartisan group of lawmakers led by Senators Ron Wyden [D-Ore.] and BIll Cassidy [R-La.] today called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the online ad economy. Wyden, Cassidy and other members asked the FTC to investigate how personal data, including the tracking of individuals at places of worship and protests, collected from Americans’ phones to deliver advertisements is being obtained by data brokers and sold without the knowledge or consent of users. The lawmakers urged the FTC to open a 6(b) investigation into the matter. Earlier this year, consumer groups called on the FTC to use its 6(b) authority to conduct a study on companies collecting data on children. No action has been taken on that request. In addition to Sens. Wyden and Cassidy, the letter is signed by Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Edward Markey, D-Mass. Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif, Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Yvette D. Clarke, D-N.Y., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., signed as well. EPIC has filed many detailed complaints with the FTC regarding consumer privacy and has called for the creation of a U.S. Data Protection Agency due to the FTC's lack of action on privacy issues.
A study conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology showed that face masks undermine the accuracy of facial recognition algorithms. The NIST study tested digitally applied masks of various shapes on 89 commercial algorithms. The result were error rates between 5% and 50%. The algorithms tested were all created pre-Covid-19. NIST plans to test facial algorithms developed with face masks in mind later this summer. A previous NIST study released at the end of last year found that false positives are up to 100 times more likely for Asian and African American faces when compared to White faces. EPIC has previously launched a Ban Face Surveillance campaign and called for a facial recognition moratorium across the globe, as well as suspension across the federal government and in U.S. schools.
In advance of a hearing on "Online Platforms and Market Power, Part 6: Examining the Dominance of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google," where the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google will testify, EPIC told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust that the U.S. needs a Data Protection Agency. EPIC told lawmakers that merger review must consider data protection. "The United States stands virtually alone in its unwillingness to address privacy as an increasingly important dimension of competition in the digital marketplace," EPIC said. EPIC pointed to the Facebook-WhatsApp deal and the failure of the FTC to protect the personal data of WhatsApp users after the merger. EPIC noted that if the FTC approves Google's acquisition of Fitbit, it will be the 230th firm that Google/Alphabet has acquired "with little action from U.S. antitrust regulators." EPIC also urged the Subcommittee to hold a hearing on H.R. 4978, the Online Privacy Act. EPIC's recent report, Grading on a Curve: Privacy Legislation in the 116th Congress, sets out the key elements of a modern privacy law, including federal baseline legislation and the creation of a Data Protection Agency.
