IAB shares the concerns raised by Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips in his dissenting statement regarding the Federal Trade Commission’s Social Media and Video Streaming Project. The FTC’s announcement raises significant questions about the focus of their study and the process used to select the companies involved. Commissioner Phillips wrote that the orders are “untethered to the stated purpose of the underlying resolution authorizing them: consumer privacy.”
Philips also believes that the orders are not designed to generate useful information for the public and questions the “logic behind the choice of recipients.” The orders are aimed at nine entities and “omit other companies engaged in business practices similar to recipients” including Apple.
It is also worth noting that several of the entities from which the FTC seeks information are either under consent orders with the Commission or are part of existing investigations or lawsuits that would presumably generate the information sought by these orders.
IAB is eager to work with the Commission in its efforts to better understand the digital advertising ecosystem, and the use of data to connect consumers with the content and services they use and love every day.”
