Upcoming FTC Workshop Focuses On Evaluating And Testing Consumer Disclosures

The Federal Trade Commission has announced the full agenda for its upcoming September 15 workshop examining disclosures made to consumers in the course of making advertising claims and describing privacy practices. The "Putting Disclosures to the Test" workshop is the brainchild of FTC Chief Technologist Lorrie Faith Cranor, and she and the FTC have expressed the hope that the event will generate discussion among industry leaders, academics, and regulators on efforts to improve the evaluation and testing of disclosures.

When soliciting presentations, the FTC highlighted the role of disclosures to prevent advertising from being deceptive, to ensure that privacy policies and other privacy-related disclosures adequately inform consumers about various types of tracking, and that industry-specific disclosures are designed to prevent deceptive claims, leading to speculation that location-tracking notices and privacy language would be emphasized. However, though the final