Published: October 2021

The FTC must act now against data abuses and discrimination

Abusive data practices are prevalent across the digital economy, and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the authority to protect consumers right now. Through a rulemaking process, the FTC can establish guardrails against discriminatory and dangerous data practices that prevent companies from weaponizing our data and putting profits over public safety. Consumer Action joined 45 other organizations to urge the FTC to exercise its statutory rulemaking authority and protect consumer data, through the entire data life cycle—collection, use, management, retention and deletion.

Consumer Action joined civil rights, media democracy and consumer advocacy groups in calling on Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairwoman Lina Khan to initiate a rulemaking to safeguard privacy, promote civil rights and set guardrails against the abuse of data online. Discriminatory and abusive data practices are prevalent across the digital economy, and a rulemaking that addresses the entire life cycle of data—collection, use, management, retention and deletion—would provide people with significant protection from discrimination and related data harms. Earlier this year, the FTC expressed interest in addressing the civil rights impacts of unjust data practices. Advocates and legislators urged the agency to exercise its statutory rulemaking authority with the goal of safeguarding consumer data and providing stronger privacy protections for vulnerable communities.

Lead Organization

Free Press Action

Other Organizations

Access Now | Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE) | American Civil Liberties Union | Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) | Center for American Progress | Center for Countering Digital Hate | Center for Democracy & Technology | Center for Digital Democracy | Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law | Common Cause | Consumer Action | Consumer Federation of America | Consumer Reports | Decode Democracy | Demand Progress Education Fund | Electronic Frontier Foundation | Electronic Privacy Information Center | Fairplay | Fight for the Future | Friends of the Earth | Kairos Action | Liberation in a Generation | Media Alliance | Media Matters for America | MediaJustice | Muslim Advocates | National Consumers League | National Hispanic Media Coalition | National Latinx Psychological Association | Next Century Cities | NTEN | NYU Cybersecurity for Democracy | Open Markets Institute | Open MIC (Open Media and Information Companies Initiative) | Open Technology Institute | PEN America | Privacy Rights Clearinghouse | Public Knowledge | Ranking Digital Rights | SumOfUs | The Greenlining Institute | UltraViolet | Upturn

More Information

Click here to read the coalition letter in full.

For more information, please visit Free Press.

 

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