FTC Seeks To Move Beyond Notice And Consent To Restrict Data Collection And Use

The FTC indicated that it will use its rulemaking authority under the FTC Act's Section 18 to create a new rule that will likely seek to rein in broad data collection and use.

In October 2021, FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter made two speeches in which she expressed a desire to move beyond the FTC's "notice-and-consent" framework to address broader surveillance practices that underlie the digital advertising economy, specifically by applying "bright-line purpose and use restrictions that minimize the data that can be collected and how it can be deployed."

Driving these changes is the concern that the notice and consent framework has left collection, retention, and sharing of data largely unchecked, which Slaughter argues can be harmful to consumers whether or not the collection itself has been disclosed in some way.   To underscore her concerns she cites an FTC staff report published in October 2021, which revealed the extent to which ISPs are able to